Singapore and Malaysian Navies conclude bilateral maritime exercise

SINGAPORE - The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) conducted a bilateral maritime exercise which took place from Mar 4 to 15.

RSN Fleet Commander Colonel Lew Chuen Hong and RMN Fleet Commander VADM Dato' Mohamad Roslan bin Mohamad Ramli were present at the closing ceremony held today at RMN Maritime Tactical Centre in Lumut Naval Base.

This year's Exercise Malapura involved about 600 personnel from the RSN and RMN.

Both navies carried out joint planning and training at Changi Naval Base (CNB), and conducted drills in conventional naval warfare and maritime security in the Malacca Strait.

The RSN participated in the exercise with a frigate (RSS Stalwart), a missile corvette (RSS Victory), a patrol vessel (RSS Sovereignty) and a Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk Naval Helicopter.

The RMN was represented by a frigate (KD Jebat), a corvette (KD Lekir), a patrol vessel (KD Kelantan) and a Super Lynx Helicopter.

Both navies interact regularly across a wide range of activities, which include bilateral exchanges and courses, as well as multilateral activities as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA).

These regular interactions strengthen mutual understanding and professional ties among the personnel of both navies, and underscore the warm and long-standing defence ties between both navies.

wjeanne@sph.com.sg