Working partners: Personnel from Sarcomex, MMEA and JCG posing for a group photo. MMEA members say the exercise has improved their confidence in handling emergency situations involving foreign vessels. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: A training exercise off Kuantan’s coast recently with Japan Coast Guard’s (JCG) training vessel Kojima has helped Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) members immensely in handling emergencies involving foreign vessels.
The Search and Rescue Communication Exercise (Sarcomex) on July 6 was crucial in view that Malaysian waters was an important maritime passage for economic transportation in the South-East Asian region, the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia said.
Sarcomex was made possible with JCG teaming up with MMEA’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Putrajaya (MRCC), it said in a statement yesterday.
The exercise was conducted with both parties contacting one another as a communication exercise for the rescue operation.
Among the personnel who gained from the exercise was Lt-Muda Maritime Mohd Ridhaudden Rosman, an assistant director, search and rescue from MMEA’s Disaster Relief Department.
“This exercise has improved MRCC personnel’s confidence level in handling emergency situations involving foreign vessels,” he told Bernama yesterday.
“Coordinated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), Sarcomex improved my communication skills and gathering information techniques when conducting a search and rescue mission,” Mohd Ridhaudden said.
The Japanese Embassy said the training vessel departed from Japan at the beginning of May and sailed across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco and Honolulu in the United States before heading to Singapore to provide training for cadets of the Japan Coast Guard Academy.
Sarcomex was carried out during the vessel’s journey from Singapore to Japan and the exercise improved MMEA’s search and rescue capabilities and deepened the mutual relationship between JCG and MMEA.
All this was made possible largely to Japan’s move to expand cooperation with Malaysia beyond bilateral relations and further promote security and maritime safety cooperation as well as capacity building.
“Sarcomex has prepared MRCC personnel to stay ready and vigilant to any call that requires assistance, locally and abroad,” Mohd Ridhaudden said.
“A call can originate from Malaysia or other countries which is why it requires MRCC personnel to enhance their communication skills in handling emergency calls,” he added.
Commander Ryosuke Tateishi, a JICA expert dispatched to MMEA from JCG, said the exercise would certainly upskill the capabilities in preparation for any calamity at sea, especially in Malaysian waters, which is an important passage for economic transportation in the South-East Asian region.
Japan has supported the capacity building of Malaysian coast guard officers since MMEA was established in 2005, where JGC officers now serve as instructors to provide training.
Former Japanese prime minister, the late Shinzo Abe, who visited Malaysia in March as a special envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, had said it would be meaningful for both countries to further promote security and maritime safety cooperation as well as capacity building.
