Sandakan Navy Port first in country to host third Trilateral Maritime Patrol Port Visit
SANDAKAN: The Naval 2 Headquarters (MAWILLA 2) Navy Port here is the first port in Malaysia to host the third Trilateral Maritime Patrol (TMP) Post Visit in which Indonesia National Navy (TNI-AL) and Philippine Navy (PN) visited Malaysia under Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) initiative.
Indonesia Navy had sent a ship, Kri Terapang led by Lt Col Laut Yohanes B.C. Hendraswanto while Philippine Navy sent its ship, Brp Felix Apolinario led by Kdr Ronel T. Raciles to meet with the Malaysian Royal Navy (TLDM) at Sandakan Mooring Base (Tambatan Pangkalan Sandakan) here yesterday, for the programme held from September 4 until 6.
Both ships were welcomed by TLDM Sandakan base here by Commander Naval Area 2 (PANGWILLA 2), Rear Admiral Dato' Ganesh Navaratnam and other TLDM personnel.
Also present were delegates from ambassadors of Indonesia and the Philippines, represented by their respective Defence Advisors.
The third TMP Port Visit programme is a continuous programme held after the launching of TMP Indomalphi (Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines) in Tarakan on June 19, 2017.
The first port visit was held in Tawi-Tawi, Philippines in November last year, while the second one was held in Tarakan Indonesia in April this year.
According to Ganesh, the objective of the programme was to increase the collaboration and interoperability as well as understanding among the three navies by curbing cross borner crimes, especially kidnap for ransom and militant activity at sea.
Ganesh said that the programme had been proven to be effective in increasing the security in Sulawesi and Sulu Sea, as there had been no criminal cases recorded in the areas since the programme was launched in 2017.
Meanwhile, the programme in Sandakan also involves coordination by Maritime Command Centres (MCC), which is a centre which combines the strength of the navy forces of the three countries.
MCC was initiated to activate inspection, communication and coordination of operations between the three countries. MCC has become the coordination operation centre as well as a centre to share intelligence and operation information between the three countries.
MCC Malaysia is now headed by its director, a captain in TLDM Tawau while MCC in Indonesia and the Philippines are based at Tarakan and Bongao, respectively.
“The third TMP Port Visit programme will see various activities among navy forces from the three countries including talk, discussion, sharing of information followed by an exercise at sea.
“There will also be a cultural exchange programme in which we get to know each other's culture. The navy personnel from Indonesia and the Philippines will also be taken to go sightseeing around Sandakan.
“This programme is very important in order for us to form a closer relationship with each other so that we could work together better in keeping the Sulawesi and Sulu Sea waters safe. We are all working to keep the waters of the three countries safe, so it is important that we understand and know each other well as it will promote better communication and understanding between the navy forces of the three countries.
“It is important that this programme is continued to be conducted in the future, because we are all working for the same goal: to keep our waters safe. So it is not only TLDM that is guarding our sea, the navies from the Philippines and Indonesia are working together with us to keep us safe too. This tie is vital in maritime security,” Ganesh explained.
Ganesh also said that the programme had to be continued because there were constant changes in the personnel working in TLDM of different bases, so it was important that the personnel of different countries knew the current person (from different country) that they were working with.