ZAMBOANGA CITY – A four-day trilateral security exercise involving the navies of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines (INDOMALPHI) is set to start Tuesday here, an official said.
Ensign Katherine Ferrer, Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) acting information officer, said the arrival on Tuesday of the Tentera Nacional Indonesia (TNI) and Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) ships at the port of Zamboanga will mark the start of the security exercise.
Ferrer said the “INDOMALPHI 4th Trilateral Port Visit and Maritime Training Activity” among the three Southeast Asian countries will be conducted under the aegis of the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA).
Ferrer said that three ships–KRI Sura-802 from Indonesia, KD Pari from Malaysian Navy and BRP-General Mariano Alvarez (PS-38) from the Philippines–will see action during the security exercise.
The security exercise includes activities such as capability demonstration, day tour, and sports. All the activities will be held in the area of responsibility of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), the Navy official said.
She said the trilateral port visit and maritime training activity aims to strengthen the relationship, enhance mutual cooperation and interoperability of the three countries through the development of combined rules of engagement and develop better understanding and cooperation to address common issues on common maritime waters.
The TCA was signed on July 14, 2016 by the defense chiefs of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines aimed to curb cross-border terrorism and other criminal activities as the three countries share common maritime borders.
