The US Navy and maritime forces from 10 Indo-Pacific partner countries started the 18th iteration of Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) in Singapore, August 19. The goal of the SEACAT exercise is to gather regional partner nations to engage in “real world, real time” training designed to enhance partner nation ability to communicate, coordinate and counter illegal smuggling and piracy.
The exercise focuses on realistic training scenarios wherein exercise participants will practice identifying, tracking and boarding of vessels participating in the exercise.
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SEACAT promotes shared commitments to maritime partnerships, security and stability in Southeast Asia. Participating nations include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
During the exercise, maritime forces from the Indo-Pacific region will operate together, performing a variety of realistic scenarios designed to reinforce interoperability in areas such as visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS), maritime domain awareness and maritime asset tracking.
VBSS events will emphasize on countering numerous kinds of maritime threats. Teams from multiple countries board and seize ships under a number of simulated scenarios.
A maritime operations center in Singapore will serve as a centralized hub for crisis coordination and information sharing in the tracking of vessels of interests throughout the exercise. Liaison officers will receive simulated reports of suspect vessels in the straits of Singapore and Malacca, the Andaman Sea or the South China Sea.
After sharing information from all available sources such as Singapore’s Information Fusion Centre and the Philippines’ National Coast Watch Center, the LNOs will develop and apply response plans using aircraft and ships from participating navies and coast guards to investigate and conduct on-scene boardings as necessary.
SEACAT, which began in 2002 under the name “Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism,” was renamed in 2012 to increase the scope of training among regional navies and coast guards.