SINGAPORE - Senior Minister of State for Defence Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman will attend the launch ceremony of the Trilateral Maritime Patrol (TMP) by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in Tarakan, Indonesia on Monday (June 19), the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday (June 17).
Singapore and Brunei will attend the ceremony as observers at the invitation of the three TMP member states, the ministry said.
While in Tarakan, Dr Maliki - who will represent Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen - will also meet the defence ministers from participating countries to discuss regional counter-terrorism efforts and cooperation.
Singapore is supportive of the littoral states' efforts to enhance regional maritime security and counter-terrorism cooperation under the TMP, said the defence ministry, which noted that together with the Singapore Armed Forces, it has offered Singapore's Information Fusion Centre (IFC) to help facilitate maritime information sharing for the TMP.
The IFC has links to around 70 operations centres from over 35 countries, and currently hosts 16 International Liaison Officers from countries such as Australia, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, United Kingdom and the United States, allowing better regional coordination against maritime threats, the ministry added.
