Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Thursday, 08 August 2024.
- U.S. COAST GUARD UTTERLY UNPREPARED, ARCTIC IS UNMANNED: In an interview yesterday, Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Admiral Kevin Lunday laid out several critical issues with the Coast Guard.
- The cutters need to cannibalize parts from other ships every time they get underway. (Underways are not just deployments, they are when a ship leaves port.)
- The USCG ice breaker cutters were unable to conduct the annual summer deployment due to an electrical fire on the Healy with no replacement ice breaker available.
- The USCG remains 10% undermanned in enlisted ranks, about 3,000 people, resulting in the USCG temporarily shuttering several bases and laying up three major cutters.
Why It Matters: The Coast Guard’s cutter fleet readiness is almost certainly overstated due to the fact that the cutters are sharing critical parts between ships. This means there are fewer cutters to enforce maritime law and develop smaller allied navies. If the problems persist, this will also mean fewer cutters in worse conditions would be added to the Navy in the event of an all-out war and a potential forfeiture of the Arctic. – J.V.
- Global Rollup
- Admiral Kevin Lunday mentioned in the interview above that the USCG is in a rulemaking process for ports, particularly regarding Chinese cranes.
- At the Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) talks this week, Australia and the U.S. announced that they will increase production of standoff precision munitions in Australia and increase U.S. Army deployments to Australia.
- Japan and Taiwan are finalizing the details for a “2+2” meeting in Tokyo at the end of August, according to Japanese media.
- South Korea is debating whether or not to develop its own nuclear weapons, according to South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik. Shin went on record opposing the idea stating it would potentially fracture the relationship with the U.S. and cause a market downturn when they pull out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The debate stems from insecurity about the U.S.’ willingness and capability to defend South Korea in a nuclear war.
- South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that the U.S., Japan, and South Korea intend to launch an alternative organization to the United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea by the end of this year. The new organization would still enforce UN sanctions but operate separately from the UN to avoid the mandate vetos given by Russia at the UN Security Council.
THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.