Singapore and Malaysia conclude bilateral military exercise

SINGAPORE - Singapore Armed Forces Chief of Army Major-General Ravinder Singh and Malaysian Armed Forces Chief of Army General Datuk Raja Mohamed Affandi Bin Raja Mohamed Noor co-officiated at the closing ceremony of Exercise Semangat Bersatu Thursday (Nov 21) afternoon.

This year's exercise, the 19th in the series of bilateral exercises between the two armies, was conducted in Singapore from Nov 14 to 21, 2013.

This year's exercise involved a total of 300 personnel from the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR) and the 10th Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment.

The eight-day exercise included professional exchanges and culminated in a combined battalion field exercise.

Commanding Officer 1 SIR Lieutenant Colonel Justiin Ang said that the exercise was an excellent opportunity for both armies to interact and understand each other.

"The exercise helped to boost mutual understanding between the two armed forces and strengthened our professional exchanges," said LTC Ang.

First conducted in 1989, Exercise Semangat Bersatu underscores the warm and long-standing defence relations between Singapore and Malaysia.

spanaech@sph.com.sg