Admiral Artemio Abu, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), has been elected as the new chairperson of an inter-government council that seeks to combat at-sea piracy and armed robbery in the entire Asia.
Abu was unanimously endorsed to lead the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) Governing Council during its 16th council meeting held in Singapore on Tuesday, March 15.
Abu, who attended the meeting via video teleconference, will serve at the helm of the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024.
He succeeded former PCG commandant George Ursabia Jr., who now serves as the undersecretary for the Department of Transportation's (DOTr) maritime unit.
The ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government agreement to further enhance multilateral cooperation on regional maritime security by addressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
The ReCAAP ISC was established in Singapore on November 29, 2006. To date, it has 21 contracting parties.
Its members include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam -- the countries that pioneered the ReCAAP agreement.
Over the years, more countries joined the council namely Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and the United States of America.