Importance of Coast Guard’s role in the Indo-Pacific region emphasized during committee hearing

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata took part in a Thursday oversight hearing examining the United States Coast Guard’s contributions to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, and the importance of the region to U.S. security interests. 

For purposes of participating in this hearing, Congresswoman Amata was waived onto the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, led by Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). Congresswoman Amata spoke on the need for a permanent U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) presence in American Samoa to effectively counter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the South Pacific.

“The Coast Guard is one of the most important and effective tools that the U.S has in countering the PRC’s malign influence of pacific waters,” said Congresswoman Amata. “Everywhere I go in the Indo-Pacific, their leaders tell me, the two things they want most are Coast Guard and Peace Corps.”

During his testimony, Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, Commander, Pacific Area, United States Coast Guard, noted that the U.S. Coast Guard only has an episodic presence in American Samoa. Chairman Gimenez said in response, “I’m concerned that we have episodic presence in American territory.

 “So whatever the Coast Guard can do to have a permanent presence in American Samoa, especially in light of the fact that we see much more aggressive action by the CCP, the PRC, the fishing fleets that are ravaging fish stocks around the world. We don’t want that to happen in American Samoa or any American territory,” Chairman Gimenez said.

In her comments and questioning of witnesses, Congresswoman Amata emphasized, “American Samoa is the only U.S. jurisdiction south of the equator, and we are a gateway to the South Pacific, with the best deep-water port within 2,500 miles.”