Officials from the Officials from the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO) shared their Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) expertise with the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) during U.S. Pacific Fleet-sponsored maritime analyst training in Thailand from 27 August to 6 September. In partnership with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s Institute for Security Governance, the training certified senior RTN personnel as “Maritime Intelligence Analysts.” The course focused on fusion of information from across the Thai government to support MDA, orchestration of collection required for all-source analysis, and production of timely, tailored, and accurate assessments on maritime situations. The RTN Intelligence Professionalization Course featured a CAPSTONE multi-agency table-top exercise. NMIO partnered with the course facilitators to develop and execute an exercise that focused on developing multi-source collection plans, analysis and support to operational commanders during boarding operations that included identification of dark targets, ship-to-ship transfers and cooperation and information sharing with regional partners.
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Officials from the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO) joined partners from Japan for the Ninth Meeting of the U.S.-Japan Comprehensive Dialogue on Space in Washington, DC, on August 26 and 27, 2024. This meeting was co-chaired by representatives from the Executive Office of the President’s National Space Council and National Security Council for the United States, and representatives of the National Space Policy Secretariat of the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Japan. Both sides exchanged views on a wide range of areas pertaining to outer space and gave updates on their respective space policies and strategies.
Principal U.S. participants included the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, Transportation, and Interior; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; the Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and NMIO. Participants representing Japan included the National Space Policy Secretariat; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; National Security Secretariat; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Ministry of the Environment; Ministry of Defense, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology); the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; and the Embassy of Japan in the United States of America.
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Officials from the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO), along with counterparts from 21 Indo-Pacific Allies. recently participated in the 23rd annual multilateral Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) Exercise. The exercise was structured to enhance collaboration and focused on the shared maritime security challenges of the region. Maritime security agencies and navies from across the region shared best practices in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) employment, planning and operations, and developments to improve collaborative ISR. The exercise featured Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) exercises performed by multiple nations aboard a contracted vessel used as a live training venue in a real-world at-sea environment. U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team members embarked the vessel and facilitated participants’ interdictions and boardings. Additionally, a second U.S. government-owned vessel was employed to simulate a so-called “dark” vessel transiting through Southeast Asia that participating agencies and navies were challenged to locate, track and report. NMIO participated in the information sharing phase of the exercise conducted at the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Information Fusion Center (IFC). The IFC served as a centralized hub for information sharing in the tracking of the two target vessels simulating suspicious vessels of interest. The exercise was a success examining top issues in maritime security in order to find collaborative solutions, foster dialogue between senior maritime security leaders, and improve the shared ability to sense in the maritime.
Nations included Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Palau, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam. Non-military participants included members of EU Critical Maritime Route Wider Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO), Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), Maxar Technologies, Starboard Maritime Intelligence, SkyLight, Unseenlabs, Hawkeye 360, SeaVision, and the US Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.
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