The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA Japan) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), in cooperation with the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC), jointly organized the 3rd Capacity Building Executive Programme (CBEP) in Singapore.
The one-week program, which ends September 13 will see senior officials and international experts address a broad spectrum of piracy and sea robbery issues including maritime cybersecurity, hostage taking, best practices, and recent activity in the region.
The lectures will be supplemented by in-depth discussions of case studies from regulatory/law-enforcement agencies from across the region. A dialogue session between regulatory/law enforcement agencies and the shipping industry will also be held to promote exchange of views and mutual cooperation.
“Despite the recent trend of a decreasing number of piracy incidents, new challenges such as terrorism and cyber attacks have been observed in the maritime domain. Against this backdrop, Japan is pleased to co-host the third program with Singapore and the ReCAAP ISC, which aims to provide the participants with opportunities to enhance law enforcement capabilities in the efforts of counter-piracy and to learn how to address emerging threats, as well as to exchange views and ideas with regional partners and experts,” said Mr. Hideki Yamaji, Director, Maritime Security Policy Division, MOFA Japan and Acting Japanese Governor to the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council.
“Singapore is pleased to once again partner Japan to co-host this year’s ReCAAP Capacity Building Executive Programme. Capacity building is one of the pillars of ReCAAP. The sharing of best practices and experiences, and building the collegiality among fellow practitioners, strengthens the network we have. This program has contributed greatly to our collective effort in the fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia,” said Ms. Quah Ley Hoon, MPA’s Chief Executive and Singapore Governor to the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council.
“A distinguishing factor of ReCAAP ISC that has led to its success in reducing both the number and severity of incidents in Asia in recent years is the incident reporting and response framework attributing the primary role to the coastal States. The CBEP builds on this framework to enhance the effectiveness of the coastal States in addressing piracy and sea robbery in Asia,” said Mr. Masafumi Kuroki, Executive Director of ReCAAP ISC.
