On 3 August 2013, Australia became the nineteenth Contracting Party to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), the organization said in a press release.
The ReCAAP ISC welcomes Austalia’s joining to the ReCAAP. Australia supports fully the ReCAAP aims of enhancing multilateral cooperation among its members.
Australia’s accession to ReCAAP signifies the growing strength of the ReCAAP network and demonstrates the importance of international cooperation to effectively address the challenges in combating piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
Rear Admiral David Johnston, Commander Border Protection Command said “Australia proudly welcomes the accession as the 19th member to the ReCAAP.” “Australia is committed to combating the crime of piracy and is equally committed to comprehensive engagement in the Asia Pacific region through cooperation, capacity building and active participation in regional organisations such as the ReCAAP.”
Commander Border Protection Command reinforced that international cooperation is the most effective way to tackle piracy, as demonstrated by the successes in the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia, and is confident that the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) will continue to demonstrate its effectiveness in improving security at sea in Asia.
The Commander of Border Protection Command has been appointed as the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) Governor for Australia. Border Protection Command’s Australian Maritime Security Operations Centre has been designated to be the focal point of Australia.
A ReCAAP ISC Team led by its Deputy Director, LTC (Retd) Nicholas Teo, visited the ReCAAP ISC Governor and the key officials of the Focal Point of Australia. In addition to operationalise the Information Network System (IFN), the team gained an insight on Australia civil maritime security arrangements in Australia.
The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) is the first regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery in Asia. It was finalised on 11 November 2004 and entered into force on 4 September 2006. To date, 19 States have become Contracting Parties to ReCAAP.
The nineteen Contracting Parties to ReCAAP are Australia, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Kingdom of Thailand, the United Kingdom and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.