Coast Guard, Marina execs ink deal for EU-funded Indian Ocean project

Coast Guard, Marina execs ink deal for EU-funded Indian Ocean project
September 11, 2023 https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/09/11/coast-guard-marina-execs-ink-de...

THE office of the diplomatic service of the European Union (EU) announced recently that the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) entered into a collaborative agreement with the Critical Maritime Routes in the Indian Ocean project (Crimario II).

In a statement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) explained that Crimario II concerns the use of the Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (Ioris) platform. Funded by the EU, the project is “a neutral and secure, web-based maritime coordination and information sharing tool for national and regional multi-agency use.”

The agreement allows the Coast Guard and Marina to access Ioris functionalities and satellite services in exchange for effective and regular use of the platform, according to the EEAS.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Philippines Ana Isabel Sanchez Ruiz was quoted in the statement as saying that “through the Crimario project and the Ioris), the EU has been building maritime capacity of partners in the Indo-Pacific so that they can better address threats to maritime safety and security, respond to disasters, protect the marine environment and manage fish stocks sustainably.”

“The EU and the Philippines share a vision of the Indo-Pacific as a space of peace, stability and prosperity,” Sanchez Ruiz added. “Contributing to ocean governance and maritime security through cooperation with partners in the region is one of the pillars of this shared vision.”

Crimario II Project Director Martin Cauchi Inglott welcomed the formal entry if Marina and the Philippine Coast Guard into the Ioris community.

According to Inglott, that communited counts more than 40 civilian and military agencies from over 20 countries across the Indo-Pacific, from the Western Indian Ocean, through Asia and Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.

“Ioris will support both organisations in implementing their mandate, providing a framework to exchange operational information, and connecting in real-time domestic and international stakeholders to address the evolving challenges in the maritime domain,” he added.