ReCAAP

Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia

The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) is the first government to government initiative to address incidences of piracy and armed robbery in Asia. To date, there are 15 contracting parties to the agreement, namely:

1. India

2. Bangladesh

3. Cambodia

4. Brunei

5. People's Republic of China

6. Japan

7. Republic of Korea

8. Laos

9. Myanmar

10. Norway

11. Philippines

12. Singapore

13. Sri Lanka

14. Thailand

15. Vietnam

The ReCAAP information sharing center was officially established in November 2006 in Singapore. The Board of Overseers has one representative from each contracting party. The roles of the ReCAAP ISC include exchanging information among Contracting Parties on incidents of piracy and armed robbery, facilitating operational cooperation among Contracting Parties, analysing the patterns and trends of piracy and armed robbery and supporting the capacity building efforts of Contracting Parties.

The way the situation has changed illustrates the success of ReCAAP. In 2000, the most notorious piracy areas were in the region, in the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. By end-2008, this has changed with South China Sea attacks down by nearly half while attacks in the Gulf of Aden spiked up.