The ninth edition of the Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative (SEAMLEI) Commander’s Forum kicked off on Tuesday with the aim of channelling discussion on the application of joint maritime law in Southeast Asia.
This year’s forum was co-hosted by the US Coast Guard and the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (ThaiMECC). It wraps up tomorrow.
Representatives from Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines attended. Cambodia’s marine force announced its absence earlier.
SEAMLEI forums, divided into the Commanders’ Forum and the Working Group Forum, are held annually with member nations and the Coast Guard, one of the main hosts, in attendance.
The Commander’s Forum is held with the aim of strengthening cooperation regarding the application of maritime law in the Southeast Asian region and discussing the main challenges there, such as the law regarding illegal, unreported, and unregulated Fishing (IUU fishing), maritime domain awareness (MDA), and other topics.
For this year’s Commanders’ Forum, talks at the four-day meeting were expected to focus on illegal trading, climate change — and its effect on the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) — and the management of sea pollution.
It also included a revision of the initiative’s standard operating procedure (SOP), which could lead to a mutual agreement among the SEAMLEI members.