On the legal issues of the Shiprider Program

As an essential tool for the United States to pursue its maritime interests, the Shiprider Program has become the legal basis for the United States to carry out global comprehensive maritime law enforcement cooperation. However, the United States Coast Guard (hereafter USCG) has over-expanded its maritime jurisdiction by breaking through the limitations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter UNCLOS) in its law enforcement activities. The USCG’ activities in the South China Sea may jeopardize other countries’ maritime rights and interests and homeland security, aggravating the maritime disputes in those regions. Therefore, this paper proposes to clarify the applicable law and improve the responsibility mechanism for the Shiprider Program to ensure that the activities of the USCG are in line with the corresponding provisions of the UNCLOS.