Australian and US allies guarded on Beijing’s Pacific games

The arrival of American Coast Guard officers aboard one of their most formidable vessels was a display of security amid fears of rogue Chinese military activity.

Matthew Rooney, captain of the US Coast Guard cutter Midgett, and HMAS Kuttabul commanding officer Rebecca Levitt at Garden Island, Sydney. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

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China’s live-fire exercises have cast a shadow over attempts by US Coast Guard officials to spruik law and order in the Pacific during meetings with their Australian counterparts.

The US Coast Guard cutter Midgett docked at Sydney’s Garden Island Naval Base last week, with American officials to meet with Border Force, Australian Federal Police and the Australian navy to compare “ideas, procedures and tactics”.

On Tuesday the USCGC Midgett welcomed aboard the Australian media, flanked by Australian navy public affairs officials. When questioned on the volatile state of international relations in the Tasman, both parties were tight-lipped.

Midgett commanding officer Matthew Rooney refused to speculate on the likelihood of Chinese vessels disrupting the ­allies’ security efforts in the ­Pacific. “We had no interactions in our mission (with China), it’s remained the same. We were aware of that (live-fire operation) but it did not affect our operation,” Captain Rooney said.

“I would defer the answer to that to the Australian navy. It’s part of their story to tell how those operations are characterised, but the Royal Australian Navy is a highly capable and professional force when it comes to maritime security. Our primary purpose here is for logistics and preparation for the next part of our journey.”

Captain Rooney was also quick to stress their objectives had not changed under the Trump ­administration – though other cutters deployed under the same mission of Operation Blue Pacific have been used in the past to deliver USAID packages to remote sections of Micronesia.

“Our mission is to assist partner nations in containing their national sovereignty through ­bilateral invitations and bilateral maritime agreements to support operations within their exclusive economic zone, (also) to prevent malign behaviours and to prevent poaching of resources,” Captain Rooney said.

Midgett’s mission has been unchanged, he said, “and the Coast Guard’s 11 statutory missions still endure as we go through administration changes”.

Commanding officer Rebecca Levitt heads the main administrative base of Garden Island – HMAS Kuttabul. She conceded the Australian public was concerned after China’s live-fire ­exercises and would be “looking at that with interest”.

Quick to move on from the topic, she stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship with US counterparts.

“We always enjoy having visits from our US partners. We share common values and a very strong friendship. Visits like this ensure that that friendship can only strengthen, and it also gives us opportunities to practice our interoperability,” she said.

“We’ve got a very large patch of ocean that we need to protect and provide that stability within the region. We can’t do that without the United States.”

Since leaving its home port in Honolulu, USCGC Midgett has travelled through American Samoa, Tuvalu and New Zealand. It will next depart for Papua New Guinea. While in Tuvalu it was tasked with assisting in boarding and inspecting ships.

Cutters are the second-largest ships in the Coast Guard’s fleet after its icebreakers. At 127m, they displace more than 4000 tonnes of water. The Midgett is one of nine cutters in the Coast Guard’s arsenal, On board the USCGC Midgett were three smaller vessels, roughly 130 sailors and a ScanEagle UAV drone.