Maritime law enforcement and regulatory officers from 15 countries meet for ReCAAP ISC capacity building workshop

Twenty-six maritime law enforcement and regulatory officers from 15 countries gathered in Yangon, Myanmar today to participate in a three-day capacity building workshop organised by ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) and hosted by its Myanmar Focal Point, the Myanmar Navy. The participants are from the Focal Points of 14 ReCAAP Member States and from the maritime law enforcement agency of Malaysia. Focal Points are the government agencies designated by ReCAAP Member States to be the primary points-of-contact for the ReCAAP information sharing network.

The capacity building workshop will feature sharing by local government authorities including the Myanmar Navy, the Myanmar Maritime Police Force and the Myanmar Department of Maritime Administration addressing issues such as inter-agency coordination and port and ship security. In addition, the Bangladesh Coast Guard, the Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre (Thai-MECC), the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will present case studies from their respective experiences.

ReCAAP ISC will explain the latest situation of piracy and sea robbery in Asia as well as the roles and functions of ReCAAP Focal Points, while the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore will deliver a lecture on international maritime law and piracy-related regulations. Table top exercises on incident reporting by ReCAAP Focal Points and group discussions on timely and accurate information sharing will be also conducted during the workshop.

“While the piracy and sea robbery situation in Asia saw an overall improvement from January to June 2018 compared to the same period over the past ten years, areas of concern remain. As Focal Points of ReCAAP Member States play a primary role for timely and accurate information sharing on piracy and sea robbery, ReCAAP ISC will continue to build the capability of its Focal Points to effectively deal with maritime crimes for the safety of maritime transport and well-being of seafarers,” said Masafumi Kuroki, Executive Director of ReCAAP ISC.

The countries participating in the ReCAAP ISC Capacity Building Workshop in Yangon, Myanmar include 14 ReCAAP Member States (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam) and Malaysia.