Japan and UNODC Ship Seizure Training in Palau

Photo Sources: Embassy of Japan to Palau

By Christopher Cottrell

August 3, 2026, Palau___ With Japan’s economic support, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is training up Palau’s maritime security, with recent Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) training.

With drug waves washing across the Pacific—from Latin American cartel cocaine to the east, and Golden Triangle meth from the west—small ship to ship transfers are a growing concern for law enforcement. Palau, with maritime borders with both the Philippines and Indonesia, overlaps into the watery smuggling zones of these drug consumer markets and onwards shipping supply chain, as detailed in a recent UNODC report.

Commented Japan’s Palau Ambassador Kasahara Kenichi, “Strengthening Palau’s maritime security capacity contributes to the safety and stability not only of Palau but of the entire region. Having observed the training, I am confident that this program has contributed to enhancing the capabilities of the maritime law enforcement authorities.”

The training was with the program, “Project for Capacity Strengthening for Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies of the Pacific Island Countries to Efficiently Counter Maritime Crime,” and carried out by UNODC and involved K9 dogs, a first for Palau marine security with this module.

Launched in 2023 with US$6 million (817 million Yen) from the government of Japan, the project conducts training in nine Pacific island countries.