Coast Guard role containing China should garner full seat with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lawmakers say

The so-called Coast Guard Caucus in Congress is calling for the commandant of that service to be added to the Joint Chiefs of Staff after it was used to respond to Chinese aggression in the Philippine Sea. China has more naval ships than the U.S. military, with American shipbuilding struggling to keep up, but the Coast Guard sent a cutter and a Hercules search plane stationed in Guam 750 miles in December to respond to illegal Chinese fishing vessels operating near the Pacific nation of Palau. The island nation was visited by former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper last year…