Opinion: China’s ‘monster’ ship is a sign of a much bigger problem

Editor’s Note: Rear Adm. Richard Timme retired from the US Coast Guard after 32 years of service. As the Coast Guard’s assistant commandant for prevention policy, he led the development and implementation of international and national policy, standards and programs to promote marine safety, security and environmental stewardship. He currently serves as president of VXMarine, a provider of marine assets and services. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinionon CNN.

Protect. Defend. Save. Three words that define the US Coast Guard’s missions and are central to its ethos statement. For the antithesis of this ethos, look directly at the China Coast Guard.

For nearly 234 years, the US Coast Guard has been true to that ethos in carrying out its many missions around the country and the globe. Around the world, many countries with a coast guard use a facsimile of the distinguishing US Coast Guard ‘racing stripe’ and white paint scheme, which differentiates these vessels from the Navy, to mark their ships or cutters. It’s an homage, intended or not, to the nobility of purpose embodied in our coast guard.

That is why I find the conduct of the China Coast Guard so jarring and disconcerting — such as attacking and destroying a Philippine resupply mission. It is completely at odds with the ethos of coast guards not just here, but everywhere small naval forces seek to bring governance and stability to the waters for which they are responsible.

China recently continued this aggressive conduct by anchoring one of its behemoth 541-foot coast guard vessels, dubbed by some observers “The Monster,” within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) maritime territory. I’m struck by how