ReCAAP ISC Capacity Building Workshop

• 20 Jun 2019

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is co-hosting the 12^th Capacity Building Workshop with Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC) in New Delhi from 19th -20th June, 2019.

ReCAAP

• The ReCAAP is the first regional Government-to-Government agreement to deal with piracy and armed robbery at sea in Asia.
• The ReCAAP Agreement was launched in November, 2006 with 14 Asian contracting parties including North, Southeast, and South Asian countries.
• It has 20 contracting parties as of now, including Europe (Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom), Australia, and the United States.
• Information sharing, capacity building and mutual legal assistance are the three pillars of co-operation under the ReCAAP agreement.
• The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) was established in Singapore on November 29, 2006.
• The Union Government has designated ICG as the focal point within India for ReCAAP.

Capacity Building Workshop

• Capacity building workshop is organised annually by the ISC and is co-hosted by one of the contracting parties.
• The main objective of this workshop is to share updated situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia and best practices of Asian countries.
• The workshop also aims to deepen the knowledge of participants on various issues related to piracy and armed robbery such as international laws, prosecution process, forensics and emerging threats.
• India has hosted the workshop earlier also in November,2011 at Goa and December,2017 at New Delhi.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG)

• The Indian Coast Guard was formally inaugurated on 19^th August, 1978. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• It has a wide range of task capabilities for both surface and air operations.
• The organization is headed by the Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG) exercising his overall command and superintendence from the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) located at New Delhi.
• Some of the important duties of the Coast Guard include
  
  • Ensuring the safety and protection of artificial Islands, offshore terminals, installations and other structures and devices in any maritime zone.
  • Providing protection and assistance to fishermen in distress while at sea.
  • Preservation and protection of maritime environment including prevention and control of marine pollution.
  • Assisting the Customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations.
  • Enforcement of the Maritime Zones of India Act.
  • Precautionary measures for the safety of life and property at sea and collection of scientific data.
• For effective command and control, the Maritime Zones of India are divided into five Coast Guard Regions, namely, North-West, West, East, North-East and Andaman & Nicobar, with the respective Regional Headquarters located at Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Port Blair.