Tan Is Asia's Anti-Piracy Chief
By JOHN CARLO CAHINHINAN
March 3, 2012,
Manila Bulletin
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice-Admiral Edmund Tan assumed yesterday as the head of Southeast Asia's anti-piracy council.
Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente, Coast Guard Public Affairs chief, said that Tan, being the chairman of the Regional Cooperating Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery in Asia-Information Sharing Center (RECAAP-ISC) based in Singapore, will spearhead the anti-piracy policy formulation, oversee the financial integrity and accountability of the organization, and review and endorse the annual work plan and budget of the council. Tan filled-up the post previously held by retired Coast Guard chief Admiral Ramon Liwag who was then unanimously elected as the chairperson of the governing council for the RECAAP-ISC last year.
Ricafrente said that Philippines’ installation as chief of the Southeast Asia’s anti-piracy council is viewed as recognition of the growing confidence of the various Asian countries to the PCG and the country, in general, as a regional key player in enhancing cooperation to combat piracy. The country also has a permanent representative in the council, former Coast Guard Intelligence chief Commander Teotimo Borja who will serve there with a fixed term of two years.
The RECAAP, founded in November, 2004 by 16 countries mostly from Southeast Asia, administers its vital Information Sharing Centre (ISC) for facilitating the sharing of piracy-related information in the region.
This regional cooperation among states has an important role to play in solving the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships, as evidenced by the success of the regional anti-piracy operation in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
In 2010, the RECAAP network and the PCG recovered three pirated shipping vessels, which include M/T Asta, a tugboat which was pirated in Indonesian waters and recovered in Dinagat Island, Surigao.
The suspected pirates were arrested and are now facing trial for criminal charges. The other pirated tugboats, M/T Atlantic 3 and Barge Atlantic 5, were recovered by the Coast Guard in General Santos City the same year
Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente, Coast Guard Public Affairs chief, said that Tan, being the chairman of the Regional Cooperating Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery in Asia-Information Sharing Center (RECAAP-ISC) based in Singapore, will spearhead the anti-piracy policy formulation, oversee the financial integrity and accountability of the organization, and review and endorse the annual work plan and budget of the council. Tan filled-up the post previously held by retired Coast Guard chief Admiral Ramon Liwag who was then unanimously elected as the chairperson of the governing council for the RECAAP-ISC last year.
Ricafrente said that Philippines’ installation as chief of the Southeast Asia’s anti-piracy council is viewed as recognition of the growing confidence of the various Asian countries to the PCG and the country, in general, as a regional key player in enhancing cooperation to combat piracy. The country also has a permanent representative in the council, former Coast Guard Intelligence chief Commander Teotimo Borja who will serve there with a fixed term of two years.
The RECAAP, founded in November, 2004 by 16 countries mostly from Southeast Asia, administers its vital Information Sharing Centre (ISC) for facilitating the sharing of piracy-related information in the region.
This regional cooperation among states has an important role to play in solving the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships, as evidenced by the success of the regional anti-piracy operation in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
In 2010, the RECAAP network and the PCG recovered three pirated shipping vessels, which include M/T Asta, a tugboat which was pirated in Indonesian waters and recovered in Dinagat Island, Surigao.
The suspected pirates were arrested and are now facing trial for criminal charges. The other pirated tugboats, M/T Atlantic 3 and Barge Atlantic 5, were recovered by the Coast Guard in General Santos City the same year
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