Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant, CG Admiral Artemio M Abu has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) Governing Council!

This occurred after the unanimous endorsement of 21 ReCAAP Contracting Parties during the 16th ReCAAP ISC Governing Council meeting held in Singapore yesterday, 15 March 2022.

Due to the global pandemic, CG Admiral Abu, together with CG Captain Jay T Tarriela, Deputy Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Human Resource Management, CG-1 and CG Captain Nelson Jay T Timbang, Deputy Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Intelligence, CG-2, attended the said meeting via video teleconference.

The Coast Guard Commandant will be serving at the helm of the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council from 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2024. He succeeded former PCG Commandant, now Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Maritime, CG Admiral George V Ursabia Jr who was also appointed as Chairperson of the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council during the 15th ReCAAP ISC Governing Council meeting on 16 March 2021.

The ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government agreement to further enhance multilateral cooperation on regional maritime security by addressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.

In November 2006, 14 Contracting Parties launched the ReCAAP Agreement. These countries were (1) Bangladesh, (2) Brunei, (3) Cambodia, (4) China, (5) India, (6) Japan, (7) South Korea, (8) Laos, (9) Myanmar, (10) Philippines, (11) Singapore, (12) Sri Lanka, (13) Thailand, and (14) Vietnam.

The ReCAAP ISC was established in Singapore on 29 November 2006.

To date, the ReCAAP Agreement has 21 Contracting Parties to include (15) Norway, (16) the Netherlands, (17) Denmark, (18) the United Kingdom, (19) Germany, (20) Australia, and (21) the United States of America.

During the 12th ReCAAP ISC Governing Council Meeting in 2018, the Council announced that ReCAAP ISC met the criteria to be a CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR INFORMATION SHARING in combating piracy and armed robbery against ships at sea.

[Photos by CG PO3 AV Flores / CGPA]