U.S. Maritime Security Initiative transforms assistance into lasting capability for Southeast Asian partners

Peter Parson

The United States Maritime Security Initiative (MSI) is boosting Southeast Asian nations’ ability to monitor their waters, train their forces and conduct joint operations. For program partners such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, the enhanced training and new assets including sensors and patrol craft are the foundation for lasting national capabilities.

“MSI has provided an essential tool for capability improvement at a time when these participating countries needed it most,” Mike Bosack, founder of the Parley Policy Institute, an Australia-based think tank, told FORUM. The program’s most significant impact is in maritime domain awareness (MDA), he said.

Since 2020, the U.S. Department of War has invested more than $290 million under MSI for equipment, supplies and construction to strengthen partners’ operations and interoperability.

With partners differing in their maritime challenges and needs, a key benefit of MSI is that it’s “tailorable to each participating country,” Bosack said.

In the Philippines, for example, MSI and related funding provides uncrewed systems to strengthen Manila’s ability to monitor and counter illicit activity in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Philippine and U.S. personnel integrate the drones into a denial network that includes coastal missiles, ships, aircraft and law enforcement units.

The U.S. also launched a three-year initiative in 2025 to provide training, maintenance assistance and other support to the Philippine Coast Guard.

MSI assistance to Vietnam enhances Hanoi’s MDA, while other U.S. funding strengthens Vietnam’s maritime law enforcement capabilities. That includes an agreement for 13 U.S.-made Metal Shark patrol boats for the Vietnam Coast Guard, adding to the 24 Metal Shark vessels delivered from 2017-20. Other U.S.-funded assets include coast guard cutters and ScanEagle uncrewed aerial vehicles.

The U.S. also funded 14 long-endurance ScanEagle drones for Indonesia to enhance maritime surveillance.

By combining equipment, infrastructure and training, the MSI expands partner nations’ ability to respond to threats such as illegal fishing and military coercion, while fostering cooperation with the U.S. and other program participants, Bosack said.

“Although maritime domain awareness is a central focus for MSI, the initiative appropriately treats it as a means to an end, not an end itself,” he said.

Peter Parson is a FORUM contributor based in Hamilton, New Zealand.