Philippine, Japanese Coast Guard conducting maritime law enforcement drills off Davao

June 1, 2017

The Philippine and Japanese Coast Guard are conducting 12 Maritime Law Enforcement Exercises off the waters of Davao which will end on Friday. The two coast guards began a rubber boat exercise which started May 30, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday. Commander Armando Balilo, spokesman of the Philippine Coast Guard, said the exercises were participated by Japan Coast Guard personnel, headed by Commander Akira Kuramoto and 20 PCG personnel assigned at Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao and its special operations unit and crew members of PCG multi-role response vessels BRP Tubbataha (MRRV-4401) and BRP Capones (MRRV- 4404). “Personnel will participate in various rubber boat drills to train the personnel in changing course, transferring, high speed manuvering, and different regulations followed in engaging with target vessels,” he said. “This activity is a part of the Memorandum of Cooperation between both Coast Guards which aims to promote capacity enhancement of personnel in four areas; maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, aids to navigation and marine environment protection,” he added. Balilo said a Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel, PLH08 Echigo which will participate on the exercises arrived around Thursday morning in Davao City “The vessel will participate in this year's conduct of the 12th Maritime Law Enforcement Exercise with the Philippine Coast Guard, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia at vicinity waters off Talicud Island, Igacos, Davao Del Norte on 03 June 2017,” he said. Balilo said the arrival ceremony for the vessel was attended by PCG Officers, PLH08 Echigo Commanding Officer; Captain Chikara Toyota JCG, PLH08 Echigo Executive Officer; Kazuya Sueda JCG, Director on Piracy Counter Measure; Koji Tsuchiya JCG and representatives from Philippine Navy; Lieutenant Commander Dennis Donga and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) manager Analle Aguila.” “After which, the crew of PLH08 Echigo paid a courtesy call to the District Commander of CGDSEM to discuss the preparations and activities to be conducted during the actual exercise on June 3,” he said. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, PLH08 Echigo a 105-meter patrol vessel has a standard cruising speed of 22 knots and a range of 1,500 nautical miles. “The vessel has a complement of 50 people. She was complexly built in February 1990 and was constructed in order to deal with the expansion of Japanese territorial sea and the economic exclusive zones and other responsible sea area bound by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue of 1979,” it noted. (Robina Asido/DMS)