REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE, Saturday, 4 August 2018 – All ten ASEAN Navy Chiefs and their representatives gathered today at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore for the 12th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting (ANCM). Chaired this year by Rear Admiral Lew Chuen Hong, Chief of Republic of Singapore Navy, the ANCM discussed a wide range of maritime issues and cooperation under the theme of “ASEAN Navies: Strengthening Cooperation, Building Resilience”. Brunei Darussalam was represented by First Admiral Pengiran Dato Seri Pahlawan Norazmi bin Pengiran Haji Muhammad, Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy.
Following the meeting, a significant outcome from the meeting was the adoption of a joint statement by the ASEAN Navy Chiefs which signals a joint undertaking by ASEAN Navies to strengthen practical cooperation in maritime security, information-sharing and to practice Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) as a confidence-building measure.
The ASEAN Navy Chiefs also had the opportunity to attend a lunch hosted by the Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohamad Maliki bin Osman. In addition, the ASEAN Navy Chiefs also observed the ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise Table Top Exercise (TTX) attended by their navy personnel which was conducted concurrently at the Changi Command and Control Centre, RSS Singapura – Changi Naval Base, as preparation for the ASEAN-China Maritime Field Training Exercise which will be conducted in China in the month of October.
On the sidelines of the ANCM, the Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy also held bilateral calls to enhance naval ties with his ASEAN counterparts. Both First Admiral Pengiran Dato Seri Pahlawan Norazmi and Rear Admiral Lew Chuen Hong also witnessed the signing of the “Terms of Reference for the Navy to Navy Talks” (NTNT) during the bilateral call, which is aimed to strengthen the cooperation between both navies.
