The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and its Japanese counterparts will be conducting joint exercises in Sulu and the Celebes Sea to boost both forces’ capabilities in fighting off piracy attacks.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and its Japanese counterparts will be conducting joint exercises in Sulu and the Celebes Sea to boost both forces’ capabilities in fighting off piracy attacks.
The PCG with the Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) held the first of the bilateral drills on Saturday, with the second to be held on June 2 to 3.
PCG officer in charge Commodore Joel Garcia pointed out that the international shipping community is concerned with sea piracy attacks in past months in the southern Philippines.
“I think the joint exercise shows our strong partnership and cooperation in combating armed robbery, ” said Garcia of the maritime exercise.
The JCG’s vice commandant for operations, Vice Admiral Shuichi Iwanami, noted that a memorandum was inked to boost the cooperation and relationship between the two forces.
“We expect the next joint exercise would be conducted in Davao in June. We will further enhance our coordination between the two Coast Guards, ” Iwanami said.
The joint drills, as well as the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia-Information Sharing Center, aims to improve the response against sea piracy and armed robbery against ships.
