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SINGAPORE : The first Malacca Strait Patrols (MSP) Information Sharing Exercise was held on Friday at Singapore's Tuas Naval Base.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI), Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) took part in the exercise.
The exercise is part of an initiative which began in 2004 and is aimed at enhancing the security of the Straits of Malacca.
The initiative comprises the Malacca Strait Sea Patrol (MSSP), the "Eyes-in-the-Sky" (EiS) air patrols, as well as the Intelligence Exchange Group (IEG).
Since its launch, piracy incidents on the Straits have fallen from 38 in 2004 to just seven last year.
This time, the exercise uses the MPS Information System (MPS-IS), which collates data from the maritime and shipping databases of all four countries.
The system was developed by Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) in 2006.
The system was recently enhanced with two new features.
The Open and Analysed Shipping Information System (OASIS) provides a near real-time Recognised Maritime Picture (RMP) and a database of sea going vehicles. And the Sense-Making Analysis and Research Tool (SMART), working with the OASIS, can detect anomalous behaviour of ships.
Head of Naval Operations RADM Tay Kian Seng said this exercise allows all parties to witness the application of the system in different scenarios.
He noted that the MPS was already put to good use last September, when a hijacked ship was recovered after countries exchanged information through the system. - CNA/ms
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