The Deputy Commander, Commodore TAWAKE led a Fijian Delegation to the 3rd High Level IORIS Steering Committee Meeting held in Cebu, Philippines from 20-24 May. IORIS is a maritime operational platform funded by European Union for communication, coordination and cooperation which allows real-time maritime incidents to be monitored, supported and coordinated by national, regional and international maritime security agencies with information sharing and incident coordination.

The attendance by CDRE Tawake and his team further enhances RFMF’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) capability prospects towards and achieving RFMF’s strategic priorities “with Situational Awareness and Understanding” which in tendem compliments and supports Government’s National Security Strategy and the intended Maritime Security Strategy.

The Republic Of Fiji Military Forces Naval Division has been using the IORIS platform for the past 5 years as the primary platform to communicate and share maritime security information internally with Fiji Police and Fisheries and at the regional level with Information Fusion Centre (IFC) in Singapore, Indian Ocean and Latin America.

The secure user-friendly functionalities within the IORIS platforms can be tailored and structured to specific maritime agencies or community area needs at national and regional level with MDA, infomation sharing, coordination and responce.

Potentially the opportunities IORIS platform presents is not limited to maritime security only. The platform can be used to coordinate interagency coordination in HADR, oil spill, search and rescue, maritime incidents, IUU fishing, port management, drug traffiking, maritime protected area and maritime constabulary functions. In addition, the use of the IORIS platforms is an opportunity to enhance and support efforts in strengthening maritime and national security.

Since its humble beginning, the IORIS Version 4 was launched in Cebu. The latest version includes the feedback and lessons learnt from the earlier versions through the three working groups. Currently, IORIS platform is used by over 50 nations and 200 maritime agencies in the Indo Pacific region. “