ASEAN PARTNERSHIPS: Maritime security in Asia Pacific

ASEAN PARTNERSHIPS: Maritime security in Asia Pacific
AMADO S. TOLENTINO, JR. May 25, 2019 https://www.manilatimes.net/maritime-security-in-asia-pacific/559387/

DISTINCTLY maritime are the 10 member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Even landlocked Laos and the less maritime-based Myanmar and Cambodia depend on the sea for national revenue.

While Asean aims at economic community, some degree of cooperation has been in place across the region in terms of naval interoperability to achieve maritime security.

Originally, Asean’s thrust towards strengthening its navies was drawn more toward offsetting threats at sea such as piracy, kidnapping, smuggling, human trafficking, illegal fishing and illegal fuel transfers in ports and harbors. Lately, however, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has been rapidly increasing in size that there is no other way except for the other navies operating in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen strategic partnerships in response.

Within Asean, naval cooperation is present under bilateral and subregional arrangements. It consists of coordinated patrols like the Malacca Strait patrols (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) to counter piracy and armed robbery at sea. Combined multinational exercises are also in place to improve professionalism, develop exchange experiences and draw lessons from fellow navies. Examples are the Indonesia-Singapore-Malaysia and Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand bilateral naval exercises.

In addition, some Asean countries maintain defense engagement activities and/or exercises with the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The annual joint Philippines-US military maneuvers called the Balikatan is not only about maritime security but also disaster response and humanitarian assistance. In early May 2019, a Philippine Navy patrol ship (BRP Andres Bonifacio) with US, Japan and Indian warships conducted a quadrilateral cooperative naval drill in the South China Sea highlighting the fact of cooperation among the four countries’ navies.

Asean countries have also committed to multilateral defense and diplomacy forums to enhance cooperative activities and capabilities. One such is the Asean Plus-Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-Plus) (the Plus being Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US). The forum is about peacekeeping operations, military medicine, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism, mine countermeasures and maritime security. Among Asean countries, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore participated in Part 1 (hosted by South Korea) of this year’s ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise, while the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam were in Part 2 hosted by Singapore. Reportedly, Chinese Coast Guard surveillance ships were noticed shadowing the participants’ vessels during the maritime capability exercises. Participation is a step up in working harmony and confidence-building so that the navies are at par with their counterparts in the multinational arena.

The overlapping maritime territorial claims in the Asia-Pacific region have often witnessed tensions between naval services but difficulties are being put aside through the maintenance of, to mention a leading example, a multinational bevy of naval officers at the Information Fusion Center (IFC) of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The purpose of IFC is to provide actionable information to regional and international navies, coast guards and other maritime agencies when dealing with maritime security incidents such as piracy, weapons proliferation, maritime terrorism, contraband and drug smuggling.

The IFC operates on a 24/7 basis with 17 personnel from other navies and coast guard services, known as international liaison officers. They work alongside 12 Singapore Navy personnel at the center.

A recent successful detection and recovery operation by the IFC involved the 101-meter oil product tanker Hai Soon 12 reported missing in the Karimata Strait off Borneo island, with 21 people on board. Through knowledge gained from shipping industry players, IFC personnel knew there was a secondary tracker on board after the primary tracker was switched off by suspected pirates.

The IFC relayed the information and other important data to its point of contact in the Indonesian Navy which was then able to rescue the Hai Soon 12 following an eight-hour chase by three of its vessels. Follow-up investigation revealed a plot to siphon off the tanker’s cargo for sale to the region’s black market. All crew members were rescued unharmed and the perpetrators have since been brought to justice.

The Hai Soon 12 incident is an example of a security response that demonstrates how a multilateral maritime security center staffed by representatives from regional navies can facilitate the fight against non-conventional maritime threats.

Indeed, maritime security centers like the IFC are important opportunities for navies and coast guards in the Asia-Pacific region to share information across the services. Collaboration contributes towards deterring and preventing maritime security incidents.