News

The 8th
Maritime Security Desktop Exercise was recently held at Manado, North Sulawesi in Indonesia from 8 to 11 May 2017.  Sixteen of Indonesia’s
neighbouring countries were in attendance:  Australia,
Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia,
Laos, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar,
Timor Leste, Singapore, Philippines, Pakistan, Maldives and Brunei Darussalam.

The
event was initiated by the Indonesian government, the
Indonesian Coast Guard Service (Bakamla Ri), the
Indonesian
Maritime Security Board (IMSB) and
the Australian Border Force (ABF).  The main focus of the 8th MSDE was on combatting the smuggling of illegal
drugs on inland and maritime waterways.

A discussion group was attended
by the parties to discuss
transnational crime issues at sea in the light of International Maritime Law and
to deepen the understanding of law officers throughout the Asia Pacific countries.  A visit was made to Bitung port, to observe a Joint Exercise carried out by the Bakamla Ri and the National Drugs Board
(BNN) with
the support of the North Sulawesi Marine Police, to implement the scenarios which had been discussed during the Syndicate Group
Discussion.

Thanks
to the MSDE meeting, it
is expected that law officers in
the region will
be able to cooperate better in handling transnational crimes such as drug smuggling.

Information provided by Budd Indonesia

budd.indonesia@budd-pni.com