INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 07-09 November 2023 – The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), along with other navies around the world, gathered in Sydney, Australia for the Indo-Pacific Sea International Maritime Exposition 2023 from 07 November to 09 November 2023. The three-day event also included the Indo-Pacific Sea Power Conference 2023, themed ‘Fleet 2035: Sea Power and Future of Maritime Warfare‘ hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The theme encourages critical thinking about the role of sea power now and into the future. Additionally, the conference focused on the critical importance of the region’s waters and ocean that facilitate the global economy, including the unseen underwater data cables vital to the modern world.
Representing the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) was Captain Haji Mohamad Sarif Pudin bin Mat Serudin, RBN, Acting Commander RBN, with his spouse Dr Dyg Hjh Suzanna binti Hj Awg Adenan, accompanied by Lieutenant Commander Ade Roddiane bin Haji Mohd. Rosdi, RBN, Commanding Officer of KDB DARULAMAN.
The conference that reflected the importance of the maritime domain was initiated with keynote addresses by Vice Admiral Mark D. Hammond, AO, Chief of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The presentations and panel discussions included the importance of maritime trade, elements of Australian sea power, technological naval warfare and its challenges, and the Indo-Pacific region’s maritime outlook in 2035. The speakers included professional high-ranking naval leaders and professors.
‘Senior Leaders View from the Top’, a panel discussion centring on the contemporary issues in maritime security from the perspectives of the South West Pacific and the South East Asia regions, was conducted a day before the Sea Power Conference. It was chaired by the Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of the Navy from the regions that include Australia, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Amid the Indo-Pacific 2023 programme, RBN also had the opportunity to conduct a series of bilateral meetings to entrench naval ties further. The bilateral meetings were conducted with Ms Karla Horn, Executive Director for the Navy International Programs Office of the United States of America, Rear Admiral Jonathan Earley, RAN, Deputy Chief of the Australian Navy, Admiral Sakai Ryo, Chief of Staff of Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), and Rear Admiral Geoffroy d’Andigné, Commander of French Armed Forces in Asia Pacific (French Polynesia).
RBN remains committed to pursuing opportunities to utilise platforms such as the Indo-Pacific 2023 to enhance RBN’s understanding of the strategic maritime domain whilst enriching naval ties with her partner navies towards a peaceful and stable region.
