ENHANCING COOPERATION AMONG MARITIME SECURITY AGENCIES

Singapore's geographical position makes it an important port-of-call for many ships and vessels.

About 1000 vessels ply the Singapore Strait daily, carrying up to a quarter of the world's commerce and half the world's oil.

That makes these vessels targets for potential threats, so maritime security is of utmost importance to Singapore.

To enhance inter-agency collaboration to collectively respond to potential security threats at sea, a multi-agency maritime security exercise, codenamed Exercise APEX, was held from 13 to 24 Aug.

Led by the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Coastal Command (COSCOM), some 2000 personnel from the Army, Police Coast Guard (PCG), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) participated in this annual exercise.

Ex APEX saw the deployment of assets from the various agencies. These included the RSN's mine countermeasure vessels, patrol vessels, a missile corvette, mini-unmanned surface vessels, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as craft from the PCG, MPA and ICA.

Table-top discussions were also held during the exercise to review and enhance maritime security plans, while various scenarios at sea were carried out to exercise all levels of command, from the combined headquarters to the units at sea.

These scenarios tested the agencies' ability to detect, respond to threats and share information under realistic conditions.

Said Commander COSCOM Colonel (COL) Tan Wee Beng: "The key aim is for us to make sure that as a system - because we have to work with different agencies and we have to work in the Singapore Strait where the operating environment is a very complex one - that we are able to get all the agencies together, train together so that we can coordinate and we can operate seamlessly together."

"We want to make sure that we're able to stay ahead of any potential threat we could face out there in the Singapore Strait," he added.

COL Tan highlighted the usefulness of having personnel from various agencies taking part in Ex APEX.

"It is important that all of us work together, so having people from the ministries and agencies working together in Ex APEX is a very good development," he said.

HARTS launched

Apart from linking up with various agencies to ensure seamless integration, Ex APEX also allowed the participants to practise new and better ways of doing things out at sea.

The launch of the Harbour Craft Transponder System (HARTS) was a "good example of doing things differently to make sure our defence is always improving and always robust", said COL Tan.

Permanent Secretary for Defence and Prime Minister's Office Chiang Chie Foo launched the HARTS at Tuas Naval Base on 23 Aug and witnessed a demonstration of the system.

Developed by MPA, and jointly implemented by PCG and RSN, the HARTS automatically tracks and monitors harbour and pleasure craft in Singapore's port waters.

The transponders send out the craft's identity, position, course and speed to the relevant authorities, which will better enable the agencies to monitor the movement of these craft and respond to any suspicious activity.