
Regional Forum examines challenges in Indomalphi maritime security cooperation
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Three years since the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia signed the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) in response to a spike in kidnap-for-ransom incidents in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, a relative calm has returned to the waters straddling the borders between the three countries. Although the agreement is seen to be contributing to maritime security in the region, there are also some questions about its sustainability and significance.
Manila-based Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc. (APPFI) and the Philippine office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), organized a Regional Forum on Maritime Security Cooperation in the Sulu - Celebes Seas, with a particular focus on the role that the TCA has played in ensuring peace and stability in the area. With the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Philippines, the forum was held in New World Manila Bay Hotel on September 2 and 3.