jiatf west interagency quarterly · pdf fileregion famous for the production of opium where...

Volume 2Issue 12016

N E W S Q U A R T E R L Y

Border Security in theGolden Triangle

C o u n t e r n a r c o t i c s P r o g r a m N e w s i n t h e I n d o - A s i a - P a c i f i c

JIATF WEST

DirectorRDML Keith M. Smith, USCG

Deputy DirectorMr. Earl HamptonChief of Staff

CAPT Edward Eder, USN

Editorial DirectorCOL John F. Winters, USASenior Contributing Editor

Mr. Tom WoodCopy Chief & Graphic Design

Mr. Shawn Parrish

Editorial StaffMr. Richard Shizuru

Ms. Lee-Ann McClainMr. Stephen BowerMr. Scott Hawman

Mr. Tom Wood

Article ContributorsMr. Scott Hawman, Mr. Tyler Truby, Mr. Shawn Parrish, Mr.Tom Wood, LCDR Leah Cole, USCG; Mr. James Griego,

Mr. Stephen Bower

Foreign Disclosure OfficersMr. Terrence Honay

Mr. Rodney Thompson

Public Affairs Support - USPACOMMAJ David Eastburn, USA – USPACOMMAJ Karolyn Mcewen, USA – SOCPAC

This e-Newsletter was produced by Joint Interagency Task Force West Commanders Action Group (CAG)

For questions, comments, or story ideas, please contactMr. Shawn ParrishPh: 808-477-9758

Email: [email protected]

JIATF West ATTN: CAGBOX 64033, CAMP H.M. SMITH, HI 96861-4033

Phone 808-477-9708

Web: http://www.pacom.mil/JIATFW

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force-west-newsletter

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JIATF WESTN E W S Q U A R T E R L Y

October - December 2016Volume 2 Issue 1

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http://www.dvidshub.net/publication/570/joint-interagency-task-force-west-newsletter

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JIATF WEST ADDS SCANNINGABILITY TO MAE SAI BORDERCROSSING

JIATF West helps to rebuild the MaeSai Customs House X-Ray Centerand incorporate the border crossingsfirst ever full body scanner.

JIATF WEST TRAINED PDEA UNITSSEIZE $21M IN DRUGS IN 2016

JIATF West, DEA, and INL supportedthe development of 3 highly skillednarcotics investigation units withinthe Philippine Drug EnforcementAgency (PDEA) that are havingsuccess.

JIATF WEST’S NEW ASSESSMENTSBRANCH

In September of 2014, JIATF Weststood up a new internal departmentto begin reviewing the effectivenessof all of its activities on an annualbasis.

JIATF WEST BEGINS BUILDINGMASSIVE INDOOR TACTICALTRAINING CENTER

The planned building will provide theRoyal Thai Police (RTP) with a large7200 square meter (about 77,000square feet) state of the art indoortactical training facility.

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Cover Photo Theborder crossingbetween Thailandand Myanmarbetween the citiesof Mae Sai inThailand andMyanmar’sTachileik, iscrossed byhundreds ofpeople every day;including bysmugglers of bothpeople and drugs.Editorial Photo byArnold Zimmer,courtesy of 123rf.

BAKER TORCH CNT 17-1 WITH THEROYAL THAI POLICE

JIATF West conducted the BakerTorch 17-1 Counter NarcoticsTraining (CNT) event in Lampang,Thailand, from 31 October to 18November, 2016.

HELPING OFAC

Between October and Decemberof 2016 OFAC designated severalindividuals and business entitiesas Transnational CriminalOrganizations (TCO) with helpfrom JIATF West.

THE PACIFIC MARITIMEINVESTIGATION COORDINATIONFORUMJIATF WEST and the AustralianFederal Police (AFP) hosted athree day forum in Waikiki on the12th of October, 2016. The forum,called the “Pacific MaritimeInvestigation Coordination Forum”was the first of its kind.

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SULU SEA MARITIME SECURITYDEVELOPMENTS

How the Philippine NationalPolice’s Maritime SpecialOperations Unit began and itssuccesses in improving security inthe Sulu Sea region.

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Contents Oct - Dec 2016CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO NAVIGATE TO THE ARTICLE

JIATF West AddsScanning Ability to MaeSai Border Crossing

Sitting on the Thai side of the border with Myanmar(formerly Burma) is the town of Mae Sai, Thailand’s

most northern city in the province of Chiang Rai. MaeSai is nestled in the Golden Triangle, the mountainousregion famous for the production of opium where theborders of Laos, Burma, and Thailand meet. Across theborder is the Myanmar town of Tachileik, a bordertrading town frequented by both Thai and foreign touristswho gain entry at the border crossing by walking acrossa bridge over the River Sai. Once on the Burmese side,travelers leave their passports with the MyanmarImmigration Office and are free to stay withinTachileik and the surrounding district of Kengtung forup to fourteen days without having to obtain a visa.

According to the United Nations office of Drug and Crime(UNODC), the Mae Sai-Tachileik border is the busiestcrossing point between the two countries and anincreasingly popular transit point with transnationalcriminal organizations for illicit narcotics.

Thai authorities estimate that over one billion pills ofmethamphetamine (called yaa baa, or crazy medicine)are trafficked across the borders of Thailand andMyanmar annually. In addition to the trafficking ofmeth, other drugs such as heroin and precursorchemicals, as well as human trafficking takes placethrough both official land check points and informalcrossings. The regions porous borders and shallow

A view of Tachileik City, a border town in theShan State of eastern Myanmar, viewed fromatop a hill on the Thai side of the border in MaeSai. Stock photo by Nuttapong Wannavijid, via www.123rf.com.

JIATF West News Quarterly Vol 2 n.1 5

People crossing the border bridge between Mae Sai,Thailand, and Tachileik, Myanmar. The Mae Sai river’swater level runs low during the Northern region’s dryseason between November and May. Editorial photo bysaiko3p, 4 November 2014, licensed under 123rf.com.

JIATF West Adds Scanning Abilityto Mae Sai Border Crossing

Thai Customs X-ray Center building in Mae Sai. This building will undergo a renovation and expansion to include a full body scannerto help improve security capabilities at the Thai - Myanmar border crossing. Photo by Romchat Development Company Limited.

river crossings between Tachileik and Mae Sai allow fortraffickers and migrants to simply wade across the MaiSae River during the dry season. It is estimated byUNODC that 450,000 migrants are smuggled intoThailand with one-third moving through official checkpoints.

To help support the counter drug efforts of Thaicustoms and border officials, USPACOM’s counterdrug task force, Joint Interagency Task Force West(JIATF West), has undertaken an initiative to helpimprove security in the northern border region ofThailand.

One component of JIATF West’s initiative is to rebuildthe Mae Sai Customs House X-Ray Center andincorporate the border crossings first ever full body

scanner. According to Scott Hawman, JIATFWest’s Base Development Program Manager,the improvements will have a significantimpact, “For a relatively small amount ofmoney, we’re talking a few hundred thousanddollars, we’ll be drastically improving the abilityof Mae Sai Customs and Border officials tointerdict illicit drugs.” JIATF West estimatesthat approximately 5000 people a day travelthrough the Mae Sai–Tachileik check point inThailand.

The project kicked off on 1 December 2016 and includestearing down the existing building and building a newstructure that will include interview rooms, changingrooms, evidence storage, an administrative room, and a

JIATF West News Quarterly Vol 1 n.1 p. 6


Construction crew members gather for a daily safety briefing outside the Mae Sai Customs X-Ray Center renovationproject funded by JIATF West in December 2016. Photo by Romchat Development Company Limited

full body scanner. The project wasfirst proposed by The U.S. Customsand Border Protection Attaché atthe U.S. Embassy in Bangkok,Mr. Steve King, who is theofficial sponsor. Overseeingthe execution of the contract forbuilding is U.S. Naval FacilitiesEngineering Command(NAVFAC) who awarded thecontract to RomchatDevelopment Company Limited. This infrastructure improvementproject is expected to becompleted mid-2017. □



JIATF West Trained PDEAUnits Seize $21M inDrugs in 2016

In the later part of 2015, JIATF West in cooperationwith the DEA, and the Department of State’s Bureau

of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs(INL) partnered together to support the development of3 highly skilled narcotics investigation units within thePhilippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). DEAnamed the units and the effort the “Supported DrugUnits” (SDUs) initiative. The concept called for conciseand combined resources to be allocated toward 3 PDEAunits and provide enough skills, training, and equipmentto effectively investigate leads provided by the DEA and

other international partners. JIATF West’s contributionto the SDU program was investigative skills developmentby utilizing its Counter Narcotics Law EnforcementDevelopment Program (CNLEDP), a contractual basedprogram in which experienced and seasoned expertnarcotics investigators are contracted to conduct trainingand evaluate practical exercises. The training is designedto challenge the student’s cognitive investigative skills andresource allocation in a stressful scenario that requiresquick decision making.


Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operativesconduct an inventory of ingredients used in themanufacture of illegal drugs at a factory warehouse inValenzuela City. ABS-CBN News/File photo.

An instructor from JIATF West’s CNLEDPprogram instructs officers from PDEA region3 during counter narcotics training inOctober of 2016 . Photo by JIATF West.


During FY 2016, JIATF West conducted 11CNLEDP training activities with the SDUs.The training consisted of a four modularprograms requiring participating lawenforcement agents to attend all four weeksin sequential order. The first module was aBasic Narcotics Investigations course; thesecond, Surveillance Operations; the third,Undercover Operations; and the fourth, anAdvanced Narcotics Investigations coursethat challenged the agents by requiring themto apply all the skills learned into acumulative investigative scenario. So far,PDEA’s Regional Office 3 has completed allfour modules. The unit from the RegionalOffice of the Autonomous Region of MuslimMindanao (ARMM) is also participating inthe training program.

PDEA has been very receptive to thecourses of this relatively new modulardevelopment program. It has beeninvaluable in assisting PDEA agents inseveral successful interdictions. Accordingto the PDEA, in 2016 agents that trainedunder the CNLEDP worked in 18investigations resulting in the seizures of193.5 Kilos of methamphetamine (about426 pounds) and 84.7 kilos of marijuana(a combined estimated street value ofnearly 21 million U.S. dollars). Theinvestigations involved three clandestinemethamphetamine labs linked to ChineseDrug Trafficking Organizations, and oneFilipino owned Marijuana farm; all ofwhich have been located and dismantled.Arrestees included six Chinese, twoTaiwanese, one Nigerian (working as ayouth soccer coach in Manila), and 41Filipino citizens. All of the arrestedsuspects have been linked to InternationalDrug Trafficking Organizations. □

JIATF West Trained PDEA UnitsSeize $21 M in Drugs in 2016

weapons, warships, or aircraft. The contemporaryassessment construct has roots in the Comprehensive JointAssessment (CJA), a COCOM level report directed annuallyby Joint Staff to assess a specific topic, allowing thechairman to provide advice to the Secretary of Defense andPresident and establish plans for everything from personnelmatters to operations.

At USPACOM, the Resources and Assessments Directorate(J8) solicits input from all components, direct reportingunits, and standing joint task forces to produce the CJA. In

addition to this critical role, the J8also produces the annual TheaterCampaign Assessment, whichevaluates USPACOM’s efforts in thevast and ever changing environmentof the Indo-Asia-Pacific area ofresponsibility. JIATF West alsocontributes to this product through anumber of indicators andobservations pertaining totransnational organized crime,partner nation capacity building

efforts, and other areas in which the task force has visibilityor oversight.

The term assessment generally means to estimate orevaluate the nature, quality, or ability of something. Peopleare constantly making conscious and subconsciousassessments everyday about their environment and theresults of their actions in order to maximize gains, remainsafe, or achieve some other purpose. At JIATF West, thepurpose of assessments is to objectively look at the strategic,operational, and tactical level effects of actions in a deliberatefashion with the intention of making operations moreeffective to achieve our mission. □


In September of 2014, JIATF West stood up a newinternal branch to begin reviewing the effectiveness of all

of its activities on an annual basis. The new department,called the Assessments Branch, serves to inform the Directorand planning staff, as well as inform higher headquartersand partner agencies. The Task Force dedicated two peoplefor initial staffing, Nancy Linn, a Statistician with a strongbackground in quantitative methodology as the AssessmentsOfficer, and Stephen Bower, a former Operations Planner,and Naval Officer, as the Assessments Chief.

The main product produced bythe Assessments branch is theannual Theater CounternarcoticsCampaign Assessment (TCNCA).Its purpose is to objectively lookat the strategic, operational, andtactical level effects of actions in adeliberate fashion with theintention of making operationsmore effective achieved througha joint effort of senior leadership,planners, and activity executors.

The report assesses at three levels: the campaign, theoperational environment, and the tasks. Derived from JointPublication-5 (Joint Operation Planning) these threeelements correlate to JIATF West’s mission, initiatives, andactivities. All 100+ annual activities are evaluated against aset group of “Measures of Performance and Measures ofEffectiveness”, indicating if the Task Force is doing thingsright and doing the right things, respectively.

The concept of formal assessment from a military oroperational perspective is a long held practice, fromdetermining the outcomes of battles to the efficacy of

The Assessments Branch Visionis to make JIATF West

operations more effective withobjective assessments of itsstrategic initiatives andactivities through annual

reports, periodic updates, andinput to the planning process.

JIATF West’s NewAssessments Branch

JIATF West BeginsBuilding Massive IndoorTactical Training Center


On the 21st of December, 2016, U.S. AmbassadorGlyn Davies traveled to the central region of

Thailand to attend the ground breaking ceremony of anew indoor tactical training center in town of NongSarai, located in Nakorn Rajchasima Province. The building project is being funded and managed byUSPACOM’s counter drug task force, Joint InteragencyTask Force Westin support ofRoyal ThaiPolice counterdrug efforts, andin partnershipwith the U. S.DrugEnforcementAdministration.

The buildingproject is a jointeffort betweenmembers of theU.S. Embassy’sLaw Enforcement Working Group (LEWG) and theRoyal Thai Police – Police Education Bureau.

The ceremony included a tour of the RTP CentralTactical Training Center, a tree planting ceremony, andremarks by Ambassador Glyn Davies.

“The United States has been, and will remain, a strongpartner in fostering the joint law enforcementrelationship between our two countries. Projects suchas this will serve as the cornerstone of this relationshipfor years to come,” said Ambassador Davies.

The three million dollar construction cost is being fullyunderwrittenby JIATFWest. On 28September2016 NAVFACawarded theproject to Civil9 Construction& ArchitectureCo. Ltd.; theexpectedcompletiondate is 28 June2017.

JIATF Westhas had a long and cooperative partnership with theRTP since it first began providing counter narcoticstraining in Thailand back in 1994. To date JIATF Westhas conducted over 160 training missions that haveprovided training to over 8000 police officers inThailand. □

Computer drawing of JIATF West’s latest infrastructure project to support lawenforcement counter drug efforts; a 7200 sqm indoor tactical training center for theRoyal Thai Police in Nong Sarai, Thailand.


U.S. Ambassador Glyn T. Davies, takes part in a tree planting ceremony at the ground breaking ceremony for a new police training buildingfunded by JIATF West in Nong Sarai, Thailand, on 21 December 2016. - Photo by Imjai Hirunmas.

JIATF West Begins Building MassiveIndoor Tactical Training Center

Participants of the ground breaking ceremony for a new tactical training building for the Royal Thai Police, 21 December 2016, StateDepartment Photo.

Tactical equipment used by the Royal Thai Police ondisplay at the Police Tactical Training Center in NongSarai — Photo by Thomas VanDenBrink, 21 December 2016.


Baker Torch CNT17-1 with theRoyal Thai Police


Members of the Royal Thai Police Region 5 practice handelingmock detainees during a demonstration as part of a two weekcounter narcotics training event held in Lampang, Thailand inNovember of 2016. — Photo by Mark Everson.

JIATF West conducted the Baker Torch 17-1 CounterNarcotics Training (CNT) event in Lampang,

Thailand, from 31 October to 18 November, 2016. Thetraining was with officers from the Royal Thai Police(RTP) Region 5, Chiang Mai who often work in supportof narcotics suppression. Approximately 40 officersattended the four week long training event.

JIATF West Task Force Representative, Mark Everson,participated in the opening and closing ceremony.

JIATF West has had a long standing relationship withthe Royal Thai Police since the very first CNT event in1994. Baker Torch 17-1 is the 168th training eventbetween JIATF West and the RTP. □

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office ofForeign Assets Control (OFAC), though the use

of authorities under the International EmergencyEconomic Powers Act (IEEPA) and other laws, usessanctions as a tool of U.S. foreign policy to targetgroups and individuals, in addition to foreigngovernments, that threaten national security. Theseeconomic sanctions include individual countrysanctions as well as targeted sanctions to combatterrorism, international narcotics traffickers,transnational criminal organizations, and thoseengaged in activities related to the proliferation ofweapons of mass destruction.

To assist U.S. persons in complying with their legalobligations under a variety of U.S. financial sanctionsprograms, OFAC publishes, updates and maintainsan integrated and comprehensive list of designatedparties that U.S. persons generally cannot deal withand whose assets U.S. persons must generally freezeand report. Collectively these designated parties arecalled "Specially Designated Nationals" or SDNs.When a person or company receives this designationtheir assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generallyprohibited from conducting any business with them(Treasury.gov).

Working with theOffice of ForeignAssets Control


The Treasury Annex building , located across the street from the U.S. Department of the Treasury headquarters on the corner of PennsylvaniaAvenue and Madison Place NW in downtown Washington, D.C., houses the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The buidling was designed bynoted architect Cass Gilbert, and construction completed in 1919. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. — Creative Commons Photo, 19 September 2009.

Between October and December of 2016 OFACdesignated several individuals and business entities asTransnational Criminal Organizations (TCO) withhelp from JIATF West. Intelligence Analysissupport from JIATF West helped OFACvet and validate the need for thedesignations allowing for sanctions tobe placed on the businesses andindividuals involved. Assets withinthe United States held by theindividuals and business involvedwere blocked (as well as assets heldon behalf of them by other U.S.persons).

October OFAC designations included fourindividuals and nine entities with ties to the AltafKhanani Money Laundering Organization (MLO), agroup that first received a designation for sanctions in2015. According to the U.S. Department of theTreasury, The Khanani MLO engages in third-partymoney laundering by transferring funds to financialinstitutions on behalf of drug traffickers and TCOsworldwide.

In December OFAC sanctioned a syndicate of theJapanese Yakuza criminal network called theYamaguchi-gumi. Specifically, OFAC designated twoentities and three individuals: the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, three of its key executive members – KunioInoue, Osamu Teraoka, and Takashi Ikeda – and itscore clan, the Yamaken-gumi, pursuant to ExecutiveOrder (E.O.) 13581, an order signed by formerPresident Barack Obama on 24 July 2011 containinglegally binding provisions granting sanctions foranyone assisting or interacting with a TCO.

According to the Department of the Treasury, the Yakuzais involved in money laundering and drug trafficking in

the U.S. It also has relationships with criminalaffiliates in Asia, and Europe where it uses

companies as fronts to launder money andhide its illicit proceeds. Legitimate

industries typically used by the Yakuzainclude construction, real estate, andfinance (Treasurey, 2016).

Yakuza syndicates are composed ofgroups tiered in a pyramidal structure,

where the head family is comprised ofmembers who are bosses of second-tier

groups; the senior executives of second-levelgroups are in turn bosses of third-tier groups and so

forth.

In the Treasury Department’s 30 December 2016 pressrelease acting Director, John E. Smith said, “Today’sdesignation is part of the Treasury Department’scollective efforts to target the Yakuza.” “This actionreflects Treasury’s ongoing commitment to protect theU.S. and international financial systems from the maligninfluence of TCOs and to expose persons who aresupporting them or acting on their behalf.”

According to James Griego, JIATF West’s Chief ofOperational Intelligence, JIATF West has been helpingOFAC with research and analysis of potential targets fordesignation since 2009. □

Treasurey, U. D. (2016, 12 30). Treasury Department Targets New YakuzaSyndicate . Retrieved 01 25, 2017, from Treasury.gov:https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0694.aspx


Working with the Office ofForeign Assets Control

https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0694.aspx






Pacific MaritimeInvestigationCoordination Forum


Participants of the 2016 Pacific MaritimeInvestigation Coordination Forum in Waikiki, Hawaii.–12 October 2016, Photo by Shawn Parrish.

JIATF WEST and the Australian Federal Police (AFP)hosted a three day forum in Waikiki on the 12th of

October, 2016. The forum, called the “Pacific MaritimeInvestigation Coordination Forum” was the first of itskind with leading counter narcotic law enforcement andpolicy makers from several partner nations.

The purpose of the forum was to attempt to identifymechanisms to assist in coordinating counter narcoticsoperations in the South Pacific. The forum evaluatedrelated issues critical to law enforcement investigations

and activities in the Oceania region. Attending theconference included representatives from partnernations including United States, Australia, Canada,French Polynesia, New Zealand and the UnitedKingdom.

JIATF West’s Director, RDML Keith Smith, USCG,attended and gave opening remarks. Presentations weregiven by representatives from each country during thethree days of meetings.

JIATF West hopes to break new ground inenhancing the multilateral information sharing andtargeting in the region by forming a working groupcalled the Six Pacific or “6-PAC” based off of thenumber of countries participating.

Participating agencies included Australia’s FederalPolice, Border Force, and Border Command; NewZealand’s Customs, and National MaritimeCoordination Center; French Polynesia’s Customs,and French Armed Forces Polynesia; the UnitedKingdom’s National Crime Agency, and MaritimeAnalysis and Operations Centre Narcotics (MAOC-N). U.S. Interagency partners included the U.S.Coast Guard’s District 14, and Maritime IntelligenceFusion Center Pacific (MIFC PAC); U.S. PacificCommand; the Drug Enforcement Agency,Homeland Security Investigations, Pacific Fleet, andJIATF South.

Key discussions of the forum centered on how tomanage interdiction operations to coordinate militaryand law enforcement assets from territories (within andadjacent to the areas of responsibility) to ensure thateveryone can comply with policies, directives, rules ofengagement, and legal requirements of the hostterritory.

According to JIATF West’s Task Force Representativeto Oceania, U. S. Coast Guard Lieutenant CommanderLeah Cole, “The way ahead is to enhance multilateralinformation and ivestigations sharing by constructing ashared vessel of interest and targeting language andprocess, and support communication on post-seizurecase prosecution efforts.” “These efforts are highlybeneficial between QUAD partners specifically due toshared advanced capabilities in the region as well as thebreadth of law enforcement Attaché investigativework.” □


Pacific Maritime InvestigationCoordination Forum

Sulu SeaSecurityDevelopments


The tri-border region of Malaysia, Indonesia, and thePhilippines, hosts some of the world’s most important

shipping lanes as well as unparalleled ecological wonders. Theregion contains the Sulu Archipelago, a chain of islands insouthwestern Philippines that is famous for its abundantmarine life and natural beauty. Some of Southeast Asia’s mostpristine beaches and coral reefs can be found in this extremelybio-diverse area including the Tubbataha reef, containingmore species of coral, fish, and marine animals than any othercomparable area in the world.

The ecological and cultural significance of this region is

matched by its strategic significance as a gateway between thePacific and Indian Oceans. Further south, the Strait of Malaccais one of the world’s busiest waterways and is the shortest searoute for oil between the Persian Gulf and Asia. According tothe U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Strait ofMalacca is the world’s second largest choke point for the transitof oil, with over 15 million barrels transiting through every day(compared to the Strait of Hormuz with 17 million per day).And when a tanker exceeds the maximum depth of theMalacca Strait the only choice is to detour south to the LombokStrait, Makassar Strait, Sibutu Passage, or Mindoro Straitinstead, all of which lie within the tri-border area.

Major Shipping Lane

Philippine waters inthe Tri-Border region


Despite an abundance of natural resources, theregion faces significant challenges to governanceand prosperity. Substantial cultural differencesacross ethnic groups can cause tensions that spillover into violence. Stemming in part fromeconomic challenges, a growing population, andpressures on natural resources caused by illegalfishing and poaching from outsiders, the area hasdeveloped a well-earned reputation for lawlessnessand violence.

Illicit trafficking of all kinds is highly prevalentthroughout the region. Trafficking of contrabandgoods, narcotics, weapons, and even people helpsfuel instability.

According to the United Nations Conference onTrade and Development’s (UNCTAD) reportReview of Maritime Transport 2016 the numberof piracy and robbery acts against ships reportedto the International Maritime Organization (IMO)in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore had thehighest number of incidents reported in 2015 with134 out of the 303 reported followed by 81 in theSouth China Sea.

The rugged terrain of the islands found in theshared waters of Indonesia and Malaysia off theisland of Borneo helps terrorist groups such asJemaah Islamiyah to train, sustain and grow inrelative safety. The Autonomous Region of MuslimMindanao, in the Sulu Sea, is home to othermilitant groups including the Abu Sayyaf groupand the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. By takingadvantage of the region’s porous borders thesegroups have been able to train, sustain and operatewith relative impunity throughout the region.

Militant and criminal activity has created a realityof kidnapping for ransom, piracy, and terroristattacks, directly impacting the day to day lives ofthe people of the region. The result is an increaseddisruption of legitimate fishing and trade flows thatis prompting Malaysia, Indonesia, and thePhilippines to all consider new ways to collaborateon security concerns in the area.

Members of the Philippine National PoliceMaritime Special Operations Unit conduct a mockVisit, Board, Search & Seizure (VBSS) during ademonstration in Honda Bay — 16 September 2015,photo by Jerry Bouts

Sulu Sea Security Developments

PNP MSOU members practice small boatmanuevers during a culmination event duringJIATF West organized counternarcoticstraining in August of 2013.

Within Philippines territory, the Armed Forces of thePhilippines (AFP) have been heavily engaged in combatingthese internal security threats for a number of years. U.S.support has helped the AFP make a significant impact instabilizing the region, so much so that the Philippinegovernment is now well established in an effort totransition to primarily a civilian law enforcement ledsecurity effort. The United States is supporting thistransition through a variety of efforts, helping thePhilippines to normalize security and governancethroughout the region. This effort has not been withoutrisks and challenges. In January of 2015, 44 PhilippineSpecial Action Force Police Officers tragically lost theirlives in the pursuit of a high value terrorist target on theisland of Mindanao.

To help the Philippine government develop a civilian lawenforcement group that is capable and prepared for thechallenges of the southern region, USPACOM’s counterdrug Task Force, Joint Interagency Task Force West(JIATF West) began providing training and infrastructuresupport to the PNP’s counterdrug efforts.

Beginning in 2007 JIATF West, in partnership with the U.S.Department of Justice International Criminal InvestigativeTraining and Assistance Program (ICITAP) began workingwith the Philippine National Police Maritime Group (PNP-MG) to establish a Special Boat Unit or SBU to operate andprovide law enforcement services throughout the Sulu Sea.

To support the SBU, JIATF West built boat maintenanceand operations facilities while ICITAP, using fundingprovided by the U. S. State Department’s InternationalBureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement(INL), oversaw the construction and delivery of six state-of-the-art patrol craft. In addition to investing ininfrastructure, JIATF West also provided yearly trainingin maritime law enforcement, operations, and small craftmaintenance.

The training provided by JIATF West alternated betweencounterdrug and maritime law enforcement skills leveragingthe expertise of U.S. personnel to provide advanced trainingand more importantly to develop PNP Officers as instructorsto support their own long term training requirements.



The PNP Maritime Group Special Boat Unit was renamedin 2014 to what is today the Maritime Special OperationsUnit or MSOU. The MSOU is leading the way in lawenforcement capability with over 250 officers providingpatrol capabilities along a 560 mile arc of the Sulu Sea.

To date, JIATF West has organized over twenty counternarcotics and maritime law enforcement trainingevents and helped build seven maritime police outpostsand stations in the Sulu Sea region. Over 900 officersof the PNP and the Philippine Coast Guard haveexpanded their own skills through these efforts. Thedevelopment of PNP officers as instructors for theirown training, as well as the JIATF West investment ina Law Enforcement Training Center on Palawan, meansthe PNP owns their future and can develop their owntraining programs to sustain the force in the long term.

During a JIATF West Maritime Skills Training eventwith the MSOU in December of 2015, SrA Michael

Connors, USAF, of American Forces Network Pacificinterviewed Police Superintendent (Psupt) OsmundoDupangan Salibo, Chief, 2nd Maritime SpecialOperations Unit. “This kind of training really improvesour interoperability with other agencies involved in theregion” said, Salibo. Psupt Salibo has been in charge ofthe PNP MSOU 2nd Unit since December of 2012.

To date, the Philippine National Police Maritime SpecialOperations Unit is credited with over 400 arrests and 22criminal vessels seized for forfeiture. They are alsocredited with the seizure of criminal contraband andassets valued at over two million USD. The success ofthe MSOU goes far beyond thwarting drug smugglersand terrorist groups. The joint training andinfrastructure projects have generated numerousancillary benefits to the environment and people in theregion. There have been 298 rescues at sea of people indistress, as well as ongoing disruption of illegal fishingand poaching of sea life.

Police Superintendent Osmundo Dupangan Salibo, of thePhilippine National Police - Maritime Group, right, with RDMLKeith Smith, Director JIATF West, during a visit to the MaritimeSpecial Operations Unit Boat Facility in Honda Bay, Palawan,Philippines — 16 September 2015, photo by Jerry Bouts




From 2013 to 2014 the MSOU helped support the PhilippineNational Police Maritime Group with the seizure ofendangered wildlife including the rescue and capture ofapproximately 900 sea turtles and over 9000 marine turtleeggs. In 2015 the United Nations Environment Program(UNEP) presented the Asia Environmental EnforcementAward to the PNP Maritime Group, Police SeniorSuperintendent Jonathan Ablang, and SuperintendentOsmundo Salibo, in the Combating Wildlife Crime category.

The efforts of the Philippine Government, with help fromJIATF West, ICITAP and INL, to develop this highly skilledMaritime Special Operations Unit is the result of theircommitment to maintain security in the Sulu Sea.

Members of the Philippine National Police Maritime SpecialOperations Unit help release an endangered sea turtle back to theSulu Sea. The turtle was rescued off of the seized Chinese fishingvessel, the Qiongqionghai, apprehended by the MSOU in May of2014 — Photo courtesy of the PNP Maritime Group, Puerto Princesa Palawan

According to former Director of Operations at JIATF West,CDR Jeffrey Scudder, USN, “These successes don’t happenovernight. It takes a long term programmatic commitment.We have had a great relationship with the PhilippineGovernment and Philippine National Police Maritime Groupthat has made this effort possible. JIATF-West and the U.S.interagency will continue to work alongside our PhilippineLaw Enforcement counterparts to meet the challenges andthreats of the future.” JIATF West is optimistic about thefuture in the Sulu Sea and we hope to continue to workalongside Philippine Law Enforcement counterparts to meetthe challenges in the region. □


JIATF WestATTN: Commanders Action Group

BOX 64033, CAMP H.M. SMITH, HI 96861-4033

Phone 808-477-9708 www.pacom.mil/jiatfw

Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Groupmembers during a training scenario as part ofJIATF West counterdrug exercises in PuertoPrincesa, Philippines, Aug 6, 2014. (U.S. Air Forcephotos by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal)

jiatf west interagency quarterly · pdf fileregion famous for the production of opium where...

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