Joint M'sia-Brunei military exercise boosts security
Published on: Sunday, November 23, 2014
Text Size:
KOTA KINABALU: Bilateral maritime security off Malaysia and Brunei was further strengthened via a joint military exercise between the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) in the 24th Hornbill Exercise. The joint exercise, which began on Nov 17, was conducted in three phases, namely the two-day docking phase at the RBN Base, the three-day sea phase on Brunei and Sabah waters and the two-day closing phase at the RMN Sepanggar Base here on Saturday. Region Two Navy Commander Rear Admiral Datuk Mohammad Rosland Omar, in a media conference held here on Saturday, said the joint exercise further cemented the bilateral relations through joint operations, practical and tactical doctrines, apart from providing exposure to both countries.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was learnt that the military assets involved were the new generation patrol boat 'KD Selangor' and rapid patrol boat 'KD Ganas' from the RMN, and the RBN's KDB Darulehsan and KDB Ijtihad. Two supporting aircraft were also involved, the Learjet from the Aerotree Flight Services Company and the Super Lynx.
Rosland said the joint exercise went smoothly with all planned evolution conducted according to the established procedure. "Our main aim was to determine the standard operating procedure and ensure strong comradeship between both navies went smoothly," he said, adding that apart from Brunei, joint exercises were also conducted with Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore in previous years.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, RBN Fleet Commander Lt. Col. Mohammad Yusuf Masron, who was also present, said the joint exercise was very important for both navies. "At a strategic level we are very good friends, thus, such bilateral exercise is a venue for us to enhance our relation, contribute to maritime security and what is important is that at operational and tactical level we can operate together.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There is always risk involved in naval operation and because we are both developing navies with new assets, we need to try and adapt to change in our standard operating procedure," he explained. Speaking on maritime security off Brunei, he said the issue is similar across the region, with some people always trying to break the rules and regulations.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
"I think we share the same sentiment that there are always people out there who will do things which is beyond the law, even little things like fishery violations, those are some of the little things even though not serious but still need to be addressed," he said. Caption: Rosland (left) and Mohammad Yusuf (right) speaking to the media at the Sepanggar Naval Base.