Indonesia, Singapore to Intensify Marine Patrols

BATAM, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia and Singapore agreed to intensify maritime surveillance by establishing coordinated border patrols to tackle customs issues and the trade in illegal goods in the maritime border areas of both nations.

The agreement was made by Indonesia's Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) and the Singapore Police Coast Guard (SPCG) during a Rendezvous at Sea meeting held in the Singapore Strait on Wednesday, Sept. 28, said the Head of Batam Customs Enforcement and Investigation Sisprian Subiaksono in a statement on Thursday, Sept. 29.

“The 2022 Rendezvous at Sea has recorded a long series of achievements in cooperation between the DJBC and SPCG, starting from the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2020, the first Rendezvous at Sea in 2021, and the signing of the SOP for coordinated sea border patrol cooperation in 2022. Now, the Rendezvous at Sea organized in September 2022 is the second one,” Subiaksono said as quoted by State News Antara.

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As one of the international trade routes, the maritime border area between Indonesia and Singapore requires tighter supervision, he added.

Synergy and collaboration between DGCE and SPCG are required to maintain and supervise the waters of the Singapore Strait which is bustling with international maritime activities owing to its strategic location that connects two continents and two oceans.

In addition to discussing the area of operation, the meeting also discussed operational technicalities, including operational simulations and coordinated patrols for phase I and coordinated patrols for phase II, he added.

Meanwhile, the Head of Enforcement and Operational Facilities for the Riau Islands Special Regional Office I Wayan Sapta Darma deemed it crucial to continually conduct coordinated maritime border patrols.

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"This year, we discussed the implementation of coordinated patrols that have been conducted well between SPCG and DJBC," he stated.

The main topic of discussion during the meeting was ways to improve communication access for maritime patrol commanders and SPCG officers in the Singapore Strait, he said.

With a fast and accurate exchange of information between DJBC and SPCG, preventing smuggling attempts in the territorial waters of the border area between Indonesia and Singapore will be easiest, he stated.

During the meeting, DGCE and SPCG also discussed exchanging information regarding lists of illegal goods from the two countries, sending watch lists from DGCE and SPCG, and coordinating patrol boats in the Horsburgh (Pedra Branca) waters.

Source: State News Antara