 |
|
Joint
boarding party ops off Yokosuka, Japan.
|
|
Photo:
ABPH Karen Bailey
|
HMAS
Arunta and an Australian Customs boarding party have taken part
in an exercise aimed at honing skills in boarding vessels which
may be carrying weapons of mass destruction.
The exercise, dubbed Team Samurai 04, was held off Japan on Tuesday,
October 26.
The Japanese Coast Guard led the maritime interdiction exercise.
It was the first to be held in the north east Asia region under
the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise program.
The first exercise in the program was held in Australia in September
2003.
The Defence Minister, Senator Robert Hill and the Customs Minister,
Senator Chris Ellison, announced the involvement of the Australian
assets on the day the exercise took place.
They said the exercise off Japan was significant because Russia
had sent observers.
Other participants were the US and France, as they had been in
2003.
Senator Ellison said PSI was an important exercise because it
was one of the only opportunities available to Customs personnel
to work alongside international agencies as part of a joint training
exercise.
“I know our Customs personnel have benefited from the first PSI
exercise held in Australia and it will be good to continue this
cooperation and build on the experiences and lessons learned during
the last exercise,” he said.
Senator Hill said Australia would host the eighth meeting of the
PSI working group in Sydney from November 30 to December 2.
These meetings have opened up participation in PSI activities
to additional countries with representatives from Russia and Greece
attending the most recent meeting in Oslo in August.
It is expected there will be an opportunity for increased participation
from regional countries at the Sydney meeting.
The meeting will discuss legal frameworks and integrate legal,
operational and intelligence issues associated with PSI activities.
The increasing participation of countries as these meetings demonstrates
the growing global support for PSI.
