PH, EU conclude maritime training vs threats at sea

The European Union (EU) and the Philippines have concluded their joint maritime activity in the waters off Palawan, which enhanced interoperability among Philippine agencies in countering maritime threats.

EU'S CRIMARIO project supported the Philippine National Maritime Center for the second iteration of the large-scale, inter-agency Tabletop and Field Training Exercise ALALAYAN 2024.

With 22 Philippine agencies as participants, ALALAYAN 2024 was held not only to test and enhance the interoperability among national and local agencies, but also to demonstrate their capability to coordinate and render support in identifying and fighting maritime threats.

The activity was held for two days, when participants operated together in a simulated and real environment to address and solve a complex situation.

That involved ships suspected of illegal drug trafficking, illegal transport of endangered species, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and search and rescue around Puerto Princesa.

The participants also used IORIS, the notable Indo-pacific Information Sharing Platform, to facilitate the communication, coordination and cooperation among operational centers and assets at sea.

According to EU'S communications team in Manila, the conclusion of the exercise "highlighted lessons learned and techniques that will improve the already good level of joint response to real-world complex maritime emergencies."

"At the same time, IORIS proved to be a reliable communications tool for interagency planning and coordination at the national level, facilitating the gathering, analysis, and exchange of information to timely and efficiently support decision-making and actions at sea," it added.