The United States Coast Guard cutter Midgett visited Australia, New Zealand and Tuvalu in February 2025 as part of the shiprider program, in which Indo-Pacific nations and territories partner to deter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, counter drug trafficking, and strengthen bilateral relationships. Personnel also exchange expertise and best practices, and enhance interoperability.
The bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements, also known as shipriders, have supported Pacific nations and territories in asserting their sovereignty and managing offshore resources. The program, initiated in the Indo-Pacific in 2008 in Cook Islands, targets destabilizing behavior that undermines mutual prosperity, trade and healthy marine ecosystems.
The program contrasts with China’s attempts to establish a presence in the Pacific theater and elsewhere. New Zealand’s Defence Policy Strategy Statement, adopted in 2023, calls for an awareness of China’s efforts. “An increasingly powerful China is using all its instruments of national power in ways that can pose challenges to existing international rules and norms,” the strategy states. “Beijing continues to invest heavily in growing and modernizing its military and is increasingly able to project military and paramilitary force beyond its immediate region, including across the wider Indo-Pacific.”
Beijing’s hospital ships Peace Ark and Silk Road Ark provide medical services and engage in international exchanges. Its People’s Liberation Army Navy, meanwhile, embarks on escort and anti-piracy missions, The Diplomat magazine reported in February 2025.
However, some deployments are to locations China has “likely considered” or “already made overtures to” for military basing access, the U.S. Defense Department reported in December 2024. Some visits include joint military exercises.
“In addition to its high-profile port investments abroad, China is increasingly using humanitarian and commercial objectives to increase its maritime presence abroad — including medical diplomacy, escort missions, and security fora,” The Diplomat reported.
Beijing’s ostensibly benevolent maritime deployments have included countries in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in South Asia, and Pacific island nations Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu, according to reports.
The U.S. shiprider engagements underscore a commitment to support Pacific island nations and promote a secure and prosperous region. They are part of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Theater Security Cooperation initiative.
Law enforcement agreements between the U.S. Coast Guard and 12 Indo-Pacific partners enable military and law enforcement personnel to ride aboard each other’s vessels within their respective waters, including exclusive economic zones. They can stop, inspect and detain boats suspected of illicit maritime activities such as IUU fishing. Participants include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The Midgett, a 418-foot vessel equipped with advanced technology and based in Honolulu, Hawaii, embarked on its monthslong patrol in January 2025, a Coast Guard official told FORUM. Off Tuvalu, personnel boarded vessels to ensure compliance with regulations in collaboration with local police, fisheries officials and government leaders. “We learned a great deal from each other, and this experience will undoubtedly pay dividends in future operations,” Capt. Matthew Rooney, the cutter’s commanding officer, said in a news release.
