Phl, Japan lead ASEAN maritime security exercise

The Philippines and Japan are strengthening maritime security cooperation with ASEAN and its dialogue partners through a joint exercise focused on building operational coordination, trust and resilience at sea.

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. led the opening of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Maritime Security Joint Cooperative Activity and Future Leaders’ Program in Olongapo City, Zambales, on 21 September.

The Philippines and Japan are co-chairing the activities, which run from 20 to 26 September, involving personnel, naval vessels, aircraft and other assets from eight ADMM-Plus countries. Observers from other ASEAN members and dialogue partners were also invited.

“We hope that this exercise will be foundational in two things: number one, learning the procedures or getting familiar with the procedures and working together and cooperation; and secondly, develop, at an early stage, networking, trust, and cooperation amongst all the participants and your respective defense establishments and navies,” Teodoro said.

The activities include harbor and sea phases designed to improve coordination among participating forces.

Teodoro also linked maritime cooperation with disaster response, citing the need for faster anticipatory action, early detection and secure information sharing during natural calamities.

“Our collaboration and cooperation not merely in response but in early prepositioning, working together, and in detection becomes more critical,” he said.

The Future Leaders’ Program will allow junior naval officers to engage with counterparts on climate change, maritime security, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and critical underwater infrastructure security.

Under the theme “Enhancing Maritime Security and Environmental Resilience in Response to Climate Change,” the activities seek to strengthen cooperation across ASEAN and the broader Indo-Pacific.