Singapore and Brunei concluded their flagship bilateral naval exercise on November 27.
Exercise Pelican, which began in 1979, is meant to help enhance mutual cooperation, understanding, and interoperability between the Royal Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN).
This year’s exercise, which ran from November 23 to November 27, was hosted by the RSN. According to Singapore’s Ministry of Defense (MINDEF), it featured command teams from the RSN’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart and Victory-class missile corvette RSS Valiant as well as the RBN’s Darussalam-class patrol vessels KDB Darussalam and KDB Darulehsan. The exercise also involved tactical discussions and simulation exercises in naval warfare – including anti-surface, anti-submarine, and anti-air operations – as well as professional sharing to deepen operational knowledge in areas like naval aviation and patrols.
“Over the years, we have built great friendships and deepened interoperability, and the exercise remains a key platform to enhance relations between the RSN and RBN. I am confident that we will continue this close friendship and deepen our cooperation across the maritime domain,” said RSN Fleet Commander Rear-Admiral (RADM) Lew Chuen Hong.
Lew officiated the closing ceremony of the exercise together with RBN Fleet Commander Colonel Pengiran Mohammad bin Pengiran Haji Damit.
Commander of the RBN First Admiral Pengiran Pahlawan Norazmi bin Pengiran Haji Muhammad, who was in Singapore for his introductory visit from November 24 to 26, also visited the exercise at Changi Naval Base. As part of his visit to the city-state, Norazmi had also called on Singapore’s defense minister Ng Eng Hen, its chief of defense force Major General Perry Lim Cheng Yeow, and navy chief Rear Admiral Lai Chung Han.
In early November, after taking over from Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng as Singapore’s ninth chief of defense force, Lim made his own introductory visit to Brunei, paying courtesy calls on several high-level officials including the deputy defense minister.