Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM)
HACGAM (Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting) established in 2004 includes the following member states: Australia, Bahrein, Bangladesh, Brunei, Philippines, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Furthermore, while Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia- Information Sharing Center (ReCAAP-ISC) participates to the forum as an associate member, the institutions such as UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Bali Process participate as observers.
Turkish Coast Guard Command’s accession to HACGAM was decided by all member states unanimously during the meeting hosted by Pakistan in 23-26 October 2017. HACGAM meetings are conducted in two levels as High Level Meeting (HLM) and Working Level Meeting (WLM).
The following coast guard functions are discussed in HACGAM meetings;
- Search and Rescue at sea,
- Marine Environment Protection,
- Preventing and Controlling Unlawful Act at Sea,
- Countermeasures against piracy and armed robbery,
- Capacity building,
- Exchange of information and experience on coast guards functions.
By participating in HACGAM activities;
- The existing cooperation areas will be broadened, and the mission effectiveness will be further enhanced. Furthermore, initiating cooperation on coast guard functions with different countries in Asia will lead to exploring new cooperation areas.
- Turkish Coast Guard Command’s multilateral activities in the field of coast guard will be enhanced and its visibility will be strengthened in the Asia-Pacific Region.
- The best practices will be observed through exchanging information and experience,
- The mission effectiveness will be enhanced through cooperation with the countries in the region in many areas primarily in maritime security and safety as well as protection of marine environment and living/natural resources.
© 2019 Turkish Coast Guard Command