Fishermen in Masinloc, Zambales prepare their boats early in the morning, hoping for a bountiful catch. (JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT)
MANILA, Philippines — Personnel from 10 government agencies participated in a two-day large-scale field training aimed at enhancing their capability to detect, identify, and fight maritime threats.
The two-day training held on August 10 and 11 was conducted by the National Coast Watch Center in support of the European Union Critical Maritime Route for Info-Pacific II project.
“During the two days, personnel from 10 national agencies operated together in a simulated and real environment to address and solve a complex situation involving ships suspected of illegal drug trafficking and goods smuggling underway to Manila,” the European External Action Service – Manila said in a statement on Friday.
Below are the national agencies that participated in the two-day maritime training:
- National Coast Watch Center
- Philippine Coast Guard
- Philippine Navy
- Philippine National Police-Maritime Group
- Bureau of Immigration
- Bureau of Customs
- Armed Forces of the Philippines Command Center
- Intelligence Service of Armed Forces of the Philippines
- Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
- Bureau of Quarantine
“I am truly grateful for the assistance provided by our foreign partners in this objective. The EU Crimario has been instrumental in enhancing our monitoring capabilities and information sharing through their implementation of Indo Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) – a secured info-sharing platform for our maritime law enforcement agencies,” said National Coast Watch Center Director and Coast Guard Vice Admiral Roy Echeverria.
The European External Action Service in Manila said participating agencies primarily used IORIS to coordinate and exchange information during the training.
“IORIS’s primary function is to provide maritime centers, organizations, and agencies with an inclusive and efficient means to analyze, plan, and coordinate maritime operations at sea connecting domestic and international stakeholders to address the evolving and complex challenges within the maritime domain,” it said.,