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PH, France boost ties in monitoring maritime threats, illegal fishing
The Philippines and France are making substantial progress in strengthening maritime domain awareness, particularly through the use of a common software platform called the IORIS Information Exchange Program, which enables the real-time sharing of information to monitor activities at sea.
According to Expertise France, a public technical cooperation agency and subsidiary of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD), the partnership falls under the CRIMARIO capacity-building project.
This EU-funded initiative promotes cross-sectoral, interagency, and transregional cooperation on maritime security and safety, while also supporting authorities in addressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“We (France and the Philippines) are making several significant progress in terms of coordination, in terms of implementation of common tools to monitor the different movements of boats, fighting against illicit traffic, and also providing common exercises with the Philippine authorities in the region to make sure that all the countries are fully prepared when there are any necessity to intervene in that regard,” said Jérémie Pellet, CEO of Expertise France.
Established in 2015, CRIMARIO aims to help like-minded countries such as the Philippines reinforce their monitoring of maritime spaces.
“We know that illegal fishers is a major issue in particular in the Philippines. We’re working with all the partners in maritime security, not only with MARINA (Maritime Industry Authority) but also with the defense forces and fisheries authorities. Our job really is to put all the actors together and make sure that they’re working efficiently in order to reinforce maritime security,” emphasized Pellet.
IORIS
The IORIS platform offers integrated functions, including multilingual messaging, chat, alerts, satellite-based data feeds, advanced mapping, vessel interception, and file exchange. It connects national agencies, including the Philippine Coast Guard, Navy, and Bureau of Fisheries, as well as international partners.
CRIMARIO Project Coordinator Laetitia de Tarlé explained that allied vessels with IORIS subscriptions can alert Philippine authorities in real time.
"Everybody is receiving the same message, the same information, and providing information through all the players, also with the map beside, where you can plot where the vessel is," explained De Tarlé.
For instance, U.S. or French naval ships conducting Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the West Philippine Sea could issue alerts and cooperate with the Philippines.
“Also with the U.S. Navy, who’s also on IORIS so with a French navy crossing around… Because a lot of the suspicious activities are, they are often happening between EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zones) or in areas where control is much more difficult,” said De Tarlé.
Expertise France clarified that IORIS also said that the system is protected by the latest cybersecurity and encryption technologies to ensure safe and secure information sharing.
Officials from Expertise France and CRIMARIO are expected to return to the Philippines later this year to deepen their cooperation further.
This announcement on IORIS comes shortly after the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) filed a new diplomatic protest against China over another water cannon incident by the China Coast Guard against a Philippine vessel near Bajo de Masinloc, well within the country’s EEZ.
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France has told GMA Integrated News that bilateral relations between the Philippines and France remain strong, particularly in key areas important to both countries. —VAL/VBL, GMA Integrated News
