PALIKIR, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services) — During the week of Oct. 10 to 14, 2022, Aren B. Palik, vice president of the Federated States of Micronesia, lead the FSM delegation for a Joint Committee Meeting or JCM with representatives of the U.S. government.
Held on Guam, the JCM provided an opportunity for the vice president and his delegation — inclusive of elected officials and senior-level public servants across the FSM — to engage in detailed briefings on issues relating to the FSM’s defense and security from conventional and non-conventional threats.
The briefings and discussions focused mainly on the challenge of illegal, unreported, and unregulated or IUU fishing.
One of the primary outcomes of the JCM is a first-of-its-kind expanded shiprider agreement between the FSM and the U.S. which is intended to further strengthen and modernize the existing shiprider agreement between the two countries.
The expanded shiprider agreement allows for remote coordination of authorities. It allows the U.S. to act on behalf of the FSM in combatting illicit maritime activity and strengthen international security operations.
Signing on behalf of the FSM was Joses R. Gallen, secretary of the Department of Justice, and signing on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard was Capt. Nicholas R. Simmons, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia Sector Guam.
Under the shiprider agreement between the FSM and the U.S., FSM law enforcement officers ride on a U.S. Coast Guard vessel for a period of time, so that in the event the U.S. Coast Guard vessel —while in the FSM’s waters — detects activity that is contrary to FSM law, the FSM law enforcement officer onboard will the capacity to stop the potential criminal activity and apprehend any potential suspects.
This form of shiprider agreement has been essential toward securing the FSM’s borders and maintaining security across the island nation’s vast ocean territory.
The FSM government envisions that the expanded agreement, which allows for remote coordination of authorities, will dramatically reduce IUU and other activity that threatens the FSM’s security and stability.
“The [FSM] is dedicated to extending to all peoples and nations that which we seek: peace, friendship, cooperation, and love in our common humanity,” Vice President Palik said in a statement following the signing ceremony. “Kind words, kind actions, and kind intentions are good enough for the great majority of us, who abide by the rule of law and see the value to our society and our planet in working together in harmony. For those who don’t abide by the rule of law, however, and threaten our economic and food security by illegally fishing in our waters, this expanded shiprider agreement will help to ensure the FSM’s security, and continues to contribute to our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific and a peaceful Blue Pacific Continent.”
FSM Vice Present Aren B. Palik with the other attending members of the Joint Committee Meeting while onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Myrtle Hazard.
FSM Secretary of Justice Joses R. Gallen and Capt. Nicholas R. Simmons sign the expanded shiprider agreement.
