A three-ship U.S. Navy task group got under way to kick off the sixth annual Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism exercise Tuesday, according to a 7th Fleet press release.

Ships participating in the exercise include the Sasebo-based USS Harpers Ferry and two U.S.-based frigates.

Aboard the Harpers Ferry are liaison officers from the navies of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, the release said.

SEACAT is a weeklong at-sea exercise designed to highlight the value of information sharing and multinational coordination within a scenario that offers participating navies practical maritime interception training, the release said.

Participants hope they’ll be able to use the new skills in any number of situations potentially encountered by maritime forces.