Page 11 - DEFENSE & SECURITY 2022 - Day 2 | DAILY NEWS

MARITIME EXERCISES ENHANCE COOPERATION

AMONGST INDO-PACIFIC PARTNERS

The 21st annual Southeast Asia Non-military participants included of the contracted merchant vessel
Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) members of EU Critical Maritime simulating suspicious vessels of inter-
exercise, which concluded on August Route Wider Indian Ocean est in seas throughout Southeast
26, following 10 days of in-person and (CRIMARIO), International Criminal Asia.
at-sea engagements enhanced col- Police Organization (INTERPOL),
laboration among 21 Indo-Pacific International Institute for Strategic U.S. Navy participants included staff
partners and focused on shared Studies (IISS), Lee Kuan Yew from DESRON 7, P-8A Poseidon air-
maritime security challenges of the School of Public Policy, National craft assigned to Task Force 72, and
region. Twenty-one partner nations University Singapore (LKYSPP NUS), personnel from Task Force 76, U.S.
participated in the exercise, includ- The Pew Charitable Trusts, Risk 7th Fleet, and U.S. Pacific Fleet. As
ing Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Intelligence, S. Rajaratnam School the U.S. Navy’s destroyer squadron
Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, of International Studies (RSIS), forward-deployed in Southeast Asia,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Stable Seas, and United Nations DESRON 7 serves as the primary tac-
New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). tical and operational commander
Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri of littoral combat ships rotationally
Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, The shore phase also involved an deployed to Singapore, Expeditionary
United States, and Vietnam. The Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Strike Group (ESG) 7’s Sea Combat
latest edition was the 21st iteration workshop that brought together Commander, and builds partner-
of the SEACAT exercise series. UAS programs across the region ships through training exercises and
to share best practices in UAS military-to-military engagements.
SEACAT is a multilateral exercise employment, planning and opera- Under Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet,
designed to enhance cooperation tions to develop and improve MDA. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest for-
among Southeast Asian countries Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, U.S. ward-deployed numbered fleet, and
and provide mutual support and a Coast Guard Pacific Area commander routinely interacts and operates with
common goal to address crises, con- said “Maritime Domain Awareness, 35 maritime nations in preserving a
tingencies, and illegal activities in the which includes valuable input, col- free and open Indo-Pacific region.
maritime domain using standardized laboration and unity of effort from
tactics, techniques, and procedures. all partners, is key to maritime gov-
“These past two weeks have reiter- ernance and security in the region.”
ated what we already knew – our
nations and maritime forces are The sea phase included boarding
smarter and stronger when we share operations by multiple nations across
information and work together.” said the contracted vessel designed to
Capt. Tom Ogden, commodore, provide training opportunities in
Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7. “The real-world at-sea environments.
in-person, multilateral collaboration Running concurrently with the sea
exhibited in SEACAT has undoubtedly phase, a command post exercise
enhanced our relationships and pro- at Singapore’s Information Fusion
moted maritime security across the Center served as a centralized hub
Indo-Pacific.” for information sharing in the tracking
DEFENCE & SECURITY 2022 AUGUST 30 2022 11