Maritime Security

In November 2001, then Prime Minister Koizumi proposed the creation of a legal framework to promote regional cooperation in order to effectively address the problem of piracy in Asia. Under Japan’s leadership, negotiations were initiated to develop the agreement, which was adopted in November 2004 and entered into force in September 2006.

• (1) Sixteen countries participated in the negotiations: ASEAN (the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Viet Nam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia), Japan, China, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
• (2) Status of Agreement (Contracting parties: 21 countries)
  Japan, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, South Korea, Cambodia, Viet Nam, India, Sri Lanka, China, Brunei, Bangladesh, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, the UK, Australia, the USA, Germany

• (1) Establishment of the Information Sharing Centre (ISC) in Singapore (November 2006).
• (2) Establishment of information sharing and cooperation system through the ISC (discovery of suspects, victims and damaged vessels, arrest of suspects, capture of suspect vessels, request for rescue of victims, etc.).
• (3) Promotion of direct cooperation between the Parties (facilitation of extradition and mutual legal assistance, and capacity building, etc.).

• (1) In November 2006, the first meeting of the Governing Council was held, where the ISC was established and Mr. ITO Yoshiaki, then Minister, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, was elected as the Secretary-General.
• (2) The 2nd Governing Council was held in February 2008. Indonesia and Malaysia attended with observer status.
• (3) In August 2009, Norway became the 15th Contracting Party to the Agreement.
• (4) In March 2010, Mr. ENDO Yoshihisa was appointed as the second Secretary General at the 4th Governing Council.
• (5) In July 2010, the Netherlands became the 16th Contracting Party.
• (6) In November 2010, Denmark became the 17th Contracting Party.
• (7) In May 2012, the United Kingdom became the 18th Contracting Party.
• (8) In March 2013, Mr. ENDO Yoshihisa was reappointed as the Secretary General at the 7th Governing Council.
• (9) In August 2013, Australia became the 19th Contracting Party.
• (10) In September 2014, the United States became the 20th Contracting Party.
• (11) In March 2016, Mr. KUROKI Masafumi was appointed as the third Secretary General at the 10th Governing Council, and the High-Level Meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary was held.
• (12) In March 2019, Mr. KUROKI Masafumi was reappointed as the Secretary General at the 13th Governing Council.
• (13) In August 2021, Germany became the 21st Contracting Party.
• (14) In March 2022, Mr. Natarajan (India) was appointed as the Secretary General at the 16th Governing Council.