Brunei, Singapore forces to co-host counter-terror exercise

The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are going to co-host the Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism Field Training Exercise (MS & CT FTX) next month, said Brunei's Ministry of Defence(MinDef) Saturday.

Coordinated under the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM-Plus), the exercise will take place from May 2 to 12, 2016 and the exercise area will span from Brunei all the way to Singapore. Participating nations for this exercise will include the 10 ASEAN nations along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States, the MinDef said.

The ADMM-Plus MS & CT FTX will demonstrate the deployment of approximately 3,000 personnel, 18 ships, 17 helicopters, two maritime patrol aircraft as well as special forces from the 18 nations in order to response to the scenario of maritime security and counter-terrorism.

The participating ships will sail from Brunei and will conduct some exercises on the way to Singapore and conclude with some Counter Terrorism scenario in Singapore.

Its objective is to elevate military practical cooperation from ASEAN level to ASEAN Plus level, and build upon militaries' experiences of previous exercises apart from enhancing military-to-military interoperability, coordination and cooperation amongst the participating countries.

It also aims to develop a more effective defense and military response to maritime strategic challenge in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Hopefully, this exercise will promote and accentuates the importance and relevance of the ADMM-Plus in the regional security structure. This has helped to build confidence, promote stable military-to-military relations in the region and enhance practical cooperation between militaries", MinDef said on its website.

According to the Mindef, the ADMM-Plus has become an effective platform for practical cooperation among the participating countries' defence establishments.

"This was proven in the year 2013 when Brunei successfully conducted the ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise from June 17 to 20, 2013 in which 3,400 personnel participated".

Source: XINHUA