Combating Piracy in Asia

Nahush Paranjpye

Published: February 15, 2021

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Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery in Asia (ReCAAP)

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 against ships in Asia.

The ReCAAP Agreement was launched in November 2006 with 14 Asian Contracting Parties including North, Southeast, and South Asian countries. It has 20 Contracting Parties today, including Europe (Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom), Australia, and the United States.

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (Centre / ReCAAP ISC) was established in Singapore on November 29, 2006. At the 12th Governing Council Meeting in 2018, the Council announced that ReCAAP ISC has met the criteria to be a Centre of Excellence for information sharing in combating piracy and armed robbery against ships at sea. Information sharing is at the core of the Centre’s work. Periodic reports are sent out to provide the statistics, analysis of situation and recommendations. Data analytics used to analyse a long-term trend of incidents.

ReCAAP ISC works closely with the Focal Points (A designated contact point of each ReCAAP Contracting Party), other governmental agencies, the shipping industry, as well as with international and regional partners such as the International Maritime Organization in order to achieve the shared goal.

The ISC has a full-time secretariat to undertake daily operations, along with representatives from the ReCAAP member countries. The core activities include:

Co-ordinate communications and exchange of information between member countries;
Expedite appropriate response by member countries to attack incidents;
Record and analyse statistics for piracy and armed robbery in the region;
Assist in the improvement of anti-piracy capabilities of member countries.

In keeping with the technological advances on board vessels with regard to communication capabilities, ReCAAP ISC launched its Mobile App in 2014. Renamed as “ReCAAP” in 2018, the App is linked to the ReCAAP ISC website to enhance accessibility and utilization. The ReCAAP App contains three primary modules, i.e. Directory (of ReCAAP Focal Points/Contact Point), Publication and Reporting.

While the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia has improved in recent years when compared to the early 2000s, the threat against ships and seafarers is still present. Given the level of trade transiting these waterways, the strategic importance of the Malacca and Singapore Straits to global economics cannot be underestimated. It is vitally important that any threat to international navigation in the region is actively challenged by the littoral states and other stakeholders. No one agency nor State can combat the maritime threats alone as this is a “shared responsibility” of all the stakeholders.

Contracting Parties of ReCAAP

Australia
Brunei Darussalam
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Japan
Kingdom of Cambodia
Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of Norway
Kingdom of Thailand
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
People’s Republic of Bangladesh
People’s Republic of China
Republic of India
Republic of Korea
Republic of Singapore
Republic of the Philippines
Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
United Kingdom
United States of America

References:

ReCAAP

International

Combating Piracy in Asia

Image Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery in Asia (ReCAAP)

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Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery in Asia (ReCAAP)