On Oct 14-16, 2026, YCAPS joined with the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, and Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies to deliver “Maritime Security, Emerging Tools, and Enhanced Coordination” in Bangkok, Thailand.
With over 80 people experts from across the Indo-Pacific (including meaningful participation from African and Latin American coastal states), this Track 1.5 workshop provided a meaningful venue to advance collaboration and break down barriers. Technology providers, coast guards and navies were particularly well represented.
John Bradford, YCAPS Executive Director, kicked off the event by delivering the first plenary presentation. Titled "Information & Data: The World of MDA", his presentation traced the 30-year history of MDA from an era where maritime security was siloed between users and providers who had few MDA tools, to today where collaboration is the norm and tools are abundant. However, cooperation still remains underdeveloped, and data overload presents new challenges.
Photo: Arthur Yang (Taiwan Coast Guard), Jay Tarriella (Philippine Coast Guard) & John Bradford (YCAPS).
Center for Maritime Capacity