FACTSHEET ON THE REGIONAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT ON COMBATING PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS IN ASIA (RECAAP)

 

What is ReCAAP?

 

1.                 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.

 

2.                 Proposed by the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in October 2001, the ReCAAP initiative aims to enhance multilateral cooperation amongst 16 regional countries, namely the ASEAN 10 plus Japan, China, Republic of Korea, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to combat sea piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region. After three years of negotiations, the ReCAAP Agreement was finalised in November 2004 in Tokyo. Singapore is the depository of the ReCAAP Agreement, which was open for signature on 28 February 2005.

 

3.                 As of 20 April 2006, eleven countries have signed the ReCAAP Agreement, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.  Of these eleven countries, eight have also ratified the Agreement, namely Japan, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, the Republic of Korea and Cambodia.  India and Sri Lanka have completed their domestic procedures for ratification and are expected to ratify the Agreement soon, while Brunei is in the process of completing its domestic procedures. The ReCAAP Agreement will enter into force 90 days after the tenth country has deposited its instrument of ratification with the depository in Singapore.  The Foreign Ministers of  Malaysia and Indonesia have also stated their country’s preparedness to cooperate with the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) during the 4th Tripartite Ministerial Meeting of the Littoral States on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, held on 1-2 August 2005 in Batam. Singapore also looks forward to the signature and ratification by the remaining ReCAAP countries in due course.

 

4.                 The significance of the ReCAAP Agreement has been recognised by regional and international organisations. For example, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-sessional Support Group Meeting on Confidence Building and Preventive Diplomacy held on 18-19 October 2005 noted the importance of agreements such as ReCAAP in enhancing maritime security in the region.  The Jakarta Meeting on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore hosted by Indonesia and the International Maritime Organisation on 7-8 September 2005 noted the importance of ReCAAP in addressing piracy and armed robbery against ships. The 60th UNGA Plenary also approved the Resolution on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, which welcomed "the progress in regional cooperation" through the ReCAAP Agreement and urged States to "give urgent attention to adopting, concluding and implementing cooperation agreements at the regional level in high risk areas".

 

What does ReCAAP consists of?

 

5.                 The ReCAAP Agreement sets out obligations undertaken by member countries to effect measures to combat piracy and armed robbery.  It also lays out a framework for cooperation among member countries, with information sharing of as its main pillar.   Sharing of piracy and armed robbery information can help improve operational cooperation when responding to incidents as well as enable the development of more effective prevention measures.

 

6.                 As a platform for cooperation, the ReCAAP countries will establish an Information Sharing Centre (ISC).  The ISC will have the status of an international organisation and will have about 13-15 staff at full strength, including representatives from ReCAAP member countries.  This is the first time that regional governments have institutionalised their cooperation in combating piracy and armed robbery against ships in the form of a permanent body with full-time staff.  Singapore will be the host of the ISC.  

 

7.                 The ISC will undertake the following activities:

 

·                    facilitate communications and information exchange between the participating governments to improve incident response by member countries;

 

·                    provide accurate statistics and analysis of the piracy and sea robbery situation in the Asia region, and:

 

·                    support capacity building efforts that help improve the capability of member countries to combat piracy and sea robbery in the region. 

 

8.                 Through the above activities, the ReCAAP ISC will help to improve the national response of each member country to combat piracy and armed robbery threats.  Through its periodic reports to the shipping community, the ISC will help ships in the region avoid and deter piracy and armed robbery attacks. 

 

Singapore - Host of the Information Sharing Centre (ISC)

 

9.                 As host of the ISC, Singapore has made preparations to ensure that the Centre will be operational soon after the ReCAAP Agreement comes into force.

 

10.             Overseeing these preparations is an inter-agency ReCAAP ISC Preparatory Committee, headed by BG (NS) Choi Shing Kwok, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport. Please see Table 1 for the composition of the Preparatory Committee. 

 

Table 1: Inter-Agency ReCAAP ISC Preparatory Committee

 

Chairman

BG (NS) Choi Shing Kwok

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of  Transport

Members

BG Tay Lim Heng

Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority

Mrs Mary Seet-Cheng

Consultant, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

DAC Jerry See

Commander, Police Coast Guard

Mr Chan Beng Seng

Director (Sea), Ministry of Transport

 

 

11.             The Preparatory Committee has appointed a full-time programme coordinator to work on the set up of the ISC.  It has also confirmed the location of the ISC.  As an independent international organisation, the ISC will have its own premises situated in the NOL Building along Alexandra Road.  The premises are currently being prepared. 

 

12.             The Preparatory Committee has also looked into the development of the necessary software to support the communication flow and exchange between ISC and the ReCAAP member countries. ST Electronics, a major regional electronics system developer with a track record in developing similar information systems, has been appointed to be the developer for the Information Network System (IFN).  The prototype of the IFN System is expected to be ready for trials by June 2006.

 

Singapore’s financial contributions

 

13.             The expenses of the ISC will be funded largely by voluntary contributions from the ReCAAP member countries.  As the host, Singapore will also fund generously.  For example, Singapore will bear the costs of the premises to house the ISC so as to enable the ISC to commence work immediately after the Agreement comes into force.  In addition, Singapore will bear the entire start-up costs of the ISC, including the development of the IFN, as well as the annual running costs of the ISC such as the rental, maintenance and utility charges.

 

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Ministry of Transport

20 April 2006

 

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