Bilateral Coast Guard exercise involving Singapore, Japan

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Japan Coast Guard (JCG) conducted a joint training exchange on Thursday at the Raffles Reserved Anchorage.

The half-day training exercise was conducted as part of the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting, a forum of 18 major coast guard agencies from all over Asia.

Commander of the Singapore Police Coast Guard, assistant commissioner of police Hsu Sin Yun, said the exercise reaffirmed the "excellent ties" enjoyed by the various agencies.

The meeting was first convened in June 2004 in Tokyo, Japan, as a taskforce to combat regional piracy. Since then, their scope has increased to encompass issues such as law enforcement, maritime security, disaster prevention and relief, and capacity building.