ON March 20 and 21, 11 maritime Philippines agencies converged in Manila and agreed to create a National IORIS Governance structure to best serve operational interests of the Philippines, being a neutral and secure information-exchange and maritime-coordinating platform serving the needs of national agencies across the Indo-Pacific.
Once established, the structure would allow the country to be integrated into the wider IORIS Community being developed to address maritime challenges, with the two-fold objective of facilitating enhanced exchange of information with regional partners, while also ensuring for the long-term implementation and sustainability of the platform.
Local maritime agencies have received extensive training on the IORIS platform since 2021. It has harmonized interagency information flows, promoted collaboration and trust, and enhanced interoperability among one another.
With the creation of the IORIS National Governance Structure, signatory agencies agreed to become active members of the IORIS National Board, which will assure proper functionality of the platform at national and regional levels to best serve the operational needs of its users, remaining aligned with the tool’s fundamental objectives: (1) interconnect maritime agencies and authorities at national and regional levels, (2) better address maritime security and safety hurdles nationally and in the Indo-Pacific region, and (3) support sustainable fisheries.
Closing the event, CRIMARIO project director Martin Cauchi-Inglott said: “The Philippines has been at the forefront of welcoming IORIS to the region, the action even commencing with intensity when [the pandemic] was at its peak. It is now set to lead the way in taking ownership of IORIS, allowing itself to drive the process internally, and bridge external partners whenever…necessary. My hearty congratulations go to these most professional maritime agencies coming on board.”
The event was organized by CRIMARIO, a European Union-funded project established in 2015 to contribute in enhancing maritime domain awareness, which now addresses maritime security and safety threats, in collaboration with the Philippines’s National Coast Watch Center—an interagency body that provides strategic direction, while formulating and promulgating policy guidelines on maritime issues and security in the country.