KUALA LUMPUR MAR. 28-. The Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) Ministerial Meeting with the presence of the Indonesian Minister of Defence, Prabowo Subianto and Philippines Secretary of National Defense, Delfin N. Lorenzana here today is a testament to the strong commitment of the countries to the safety and security of the waters in Sulu and Sulawesi Seas.
The meeting chaired by Senior Minister of Defence Malaysia, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said, the meeting provides an invaluable platform for trilateral relations in defence and exchanging views on security situation in order to strengthen cooperation to mitigate various trans-boundary threats that continue to plague the region.
The TCA Ministerial Meeting in its joint statement has made three agreements that include firstly to expand the TCA beyond it’s current defence sphere by effectively incorporating a multi-agency approach and secondly to expedite the deployment of a permanent Trilateral Maritime Patrol Liaison Officer (TMP LO) in each country’s Maritime Command Centres.
This is to enable effective exchange of information, monitoring and implementation of maritime and air surveillance activities.
Thirdly the agreement is to ensure greater emphasis in intelligence for future surveillance operations to increase productivity and accuracy in curtailing crime-terror nexus activities in the region.
Hishammuddin said the TCA meeting has also mandated the senior officials to institutionalize the TCA Ministerial Meeting to be convened at least annually to enhance strategic engagement and commitment among the three countries.
The actions include increase presence at sea to deter security threats in the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and explore the potential of land-based exercises; this will be spearheaded by Chiefs of Defence Forces of the three countries. -Malaysia World News
