YCAPS attended the shore phase of the Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) exercise in Singapore from 14 to 20 August 2023. This year, SEACAT — a US-organized multilateral exercise designed to enhance cooperation among Indo-Pacific nations — was attended by maritime agencies and forces from twenty nations.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brandon Parker)
YCAPS leaders John Bradford, Annette Bradford, Charlie Brown, Scott Edwards, Asyura Salleh, and Brian Waidelich attended across the 3 seminars of the shore-phase — Intelligence, Surveillance andReconnaissance (ISR); Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS); and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).
The ISR session, led by the Institute for Security Governance’s Craig Schnappinger, delivered training on Unmanned Aircraft Systems and resulted in several concept of operations (CONOPS) tabletop exercises. The VBSS session, led by the US Coast Guard (USCG) Maritime Security Response Team’s Lieutenant Connor Nelson, focused on exchanges about the tactics, rules, and norms that need to be considered when undertaking VBSS. Insights came from the USCG, Canada’s Naval Tactical Operations Group, the UK’s 42 Commando, and VBSS experts from across the region. The MDA workshops led by US Pacific Fleet’s Charlie Brown focused on regional trends. It included speakers from academia such as Ray Powell and Ian Chong, intergovernmental organisations such as the UNODC’s Asyura Salleh (who is also YCAPS' Advisor for Maritime Security), the private sector such as MAXAR and SkyLight, and governmental actors from the UK, Maldives, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.
YCAPS Executive Director John Bradford also presented on the final day of the MDA workshop. His presentation covered developments in the regional conceptualisations of maritime security, trends in maritime security issues, and the different ways in which stakeholders are implicated in and approaching these issue areas.
