Japan and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) will start a one-month joint training session with their Philippine counterpart before the end of October.

According to the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), the training dubbed as Solid Alliance for Peace and Prosperity with Humanity and Integrity on the Rule-of-law based Engagement (Sapphire) 22 will run from Oct. 23 to Nov. 25.

“This is the second US-Japan joint effort for foreign coast guards since the signing of the annex of the memorandum of cooperation between the JCG and the USCG on May 18, 2022,” said JCG.

The JCG is set to send five members of its Mobile Cooperation Team (MCT), a special team that provides foreign coast guard agencies with technical support on maritime safety and security, for the training.

During the training, “the JCG MCT is going to conduct drills on towing and on-board boat launching using the 97-meter patrol vessels provided by Japan, and arresting techniques training.”

The USCG will also give training courses on boarding officers and damage control. The US and Japan Coast Guard agencies will work together to implement these courses. Robina Asido/DMS