President Johnson Toribiong officially opened the Meeting. It was hosted by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Nippon Foundation and aimed to develop a maritime perspective as well as promote international cooperation and partnership for the preservation and security of the Pacific seas.
Other Support Measures reached at the meeting include provision of small craft and fuel/maintenance for their operation; construction of boat ram(s); provision of a tractor, trailer, and emergency power generator; provision of HF/VHF radios; conducting feasibility study and environmental impact assessment toward construction of fuel tank, and other items.
The support measures will be implemented starting April 2011.
Among the attendees were Francis I. Itimai, Secretary of Transport, Communications and Infrastructure of the Federated States of Micronesia; Brenson S. Wase, Minister of Justice of the Republic of the Marshall Islands; John C. Gibbons, Minister of Justice of Palau; Nicholas Coppel, Assistant Secretary, Pacific Regional and New Zealand Branch Administration Department, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia; Yuichi Motoyama, Director, Coast Guard International Relations, Japan Coast Guard; Helen Reed-Rowe, US Ambassador to Palau; Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation; and Jiro Hanyu, Chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
The participants also agreed to hold meetings to consult on the efficient implementation of the Support Measures on as-needed basis.
Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Marshall Islands have waters and exclusive economic zones spanning about 6 million km, the third largest in the world. But the three nations only have a combined population of 180,000 and a land area of just 1,400 km. So, maritime surveillance cannot be adequately conducted without a partnership arrangement linking the three island nations and the cooperation of neighboring countries.
According to Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, increases in illegal fishing by foreign vessels and over-fishing are giving rise to serious concerns regarding the depletion of marine resources in the Micronesian Region.
“These problems not only undermine the peace and prosperity of the Micronesian nations, but also threaten the livelihood of their citizens,” Sasakawa added. “No one country acting alone can resolve these problems.”
The two NGOs, the Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, conducted a feasibility study in the region and carried out discussions with nearby countries. The initiative to strengthen maritime surveillance capacity in the region is recognized as a landmark case of private sector-led public-private partnership (PPP).
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