Mice that Roar | Australian Strategic Policy Institute

"Over the past five years, there’s been an increase in coastguard and maritime border response capabilities across much of ASEAN. Admittedly, the growth has been uneven. Although in many cases the number of surface vessels has increased, there are serious ongoing concerns about most states’ capacities to deploy and maintain those vessels, and to use intelligence and surveillance effectively in coordinating them. There are opportunities to do more.

ASEAN states have focused their new capabilities mainly on enhancing physical presence patrols and response in their exclusive economic zones. In a general sense, they have an improving capability base from which to draw for near-shore maritime patrolling and response.

The emergence of greater regional cooperation, especially for hotspots, through mechanisms such as the trilateral air patrol between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, has strong potential to further enhance air and maritime security surveillance in the region."