Here is an interesting proposal for an African Coast Guard Operational Network.

MONROVIA, Liberia—Cmdr. Robert Hendrickson, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, speaks to the media in Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 12, 2010. The Mohawk traveled to Monrovia to begin with the Liberian Coast Guard as part of the African Partnership Station, an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and other collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Victoria Bonk.

Obviously it would be easy to be cynical about the prospect of this sort of thing happening, but there are strong incentives and the African nations have sometimes shown a willingness to work together through the African Union.

A look at a map of Africa will show many places where criminals can move quickly among the territorial seas of various nations. Without law and order, economic development is difficult at best and frequently impossible. The Somali piracy problem is already adversely effecting the economies of it’s neighbors, and it appears that piracy is becoming more of a problem in the Gulf of Guinea.

The US Coast Guard certainly has a role to play through the African Partnership Station, if such an organization is to be realized. Not that I would ever expect them to be literally integrated, but if the USCG can cooperate with their Russian counterparts, there is reason to hope that African nations can also cooperate.