Press Releases
2nd ARF Workshop on International Cooperation on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA)
February 20, 2020
- On February 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the "2nd ARF Workshop on International Cooperation on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA)" as an official event of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Tokyo.
- Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Coast Guard and Navy as well as experts from ARF members attended this meeting, which was co-chaired by Japan and Viet Nam. From the Japanese side, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Secretariat - Cabinet Secretariat, the National Space Policy Secretariat and the National Ocean Policy Secretariat - Cabinet Office, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Defense and the Japan Coast Guard attended the meeting.
- Participants, many of whom from ASEAN countries, made presentations on such topics as the utilization of MDA capabilities, interagency mechanisms and international cooperation to address various maritime challenges including piracy, maritime terrorism and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Japan Coast Guard introduced its satellite-based maritime surveillance operations.
- Through active discussions at each session, best practices from countries and regional frameworks on MDA were shared among ARF members, and participants agreed to further enhance international cooperation on MDA.