Japan provides 1st air-to-sea monitoring drill for S.E. Asian nations
Indonesian, Philippine and Malaysian coast guard officials get briefed on maritime surveillance capabilities aboard an airplane flying over waters east of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island on Dec. 5, 2023
Japan on Tuesday began training three Southeast Asian countries in sea monitoring from the air, in the latest effort to help enhance their maritime surveillance capabilities amid China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Indonesian, Philippine and Malaysian coast guard officials boarded an airplane from Batam Island, western Indonesia, near Singapore, to get briefed on high-tech surveillance equipment, according to the Japan Coast Guard.
The exercise is part of the Maritime Domain Awareness or MDA training program that the Japan Coast Guard started last year. A dedicated department for the program was established in 2017 to help Asian countries build their maritime security capacities.
Southeast Asia is a strategically important area for Japan as it faces the South China Sea, home to some of the world’s busiest maritime sea lanes, while some countries in the region have overlapping territorial claims with China in the sea.
“I think that we have (increasing) challenges,” Roland Lorenzana, director of the Philippine Coast Guard Command Center, told reporters after joining the training.
Motonari Adachi, deputy director general of the Japan Coast Guard’s Administration Department, said the MDA is “the most important initial response” to maintain order at sea, and Japan will continue to contribute to maritime stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
