MUARA, Friday, 10 December 2021 –
KDB DARUTTAQWA has safely came alongside RBN Jetty after completing a 16-day deployment to Belawan, Medan, Indonesia to participate in ASEAN Russia Naval Exercise (ARNEX) 2021. KDB DARUTTAQWA was received by the Fleet Commander, Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) Captain Khairil bin Haji Abdul Rahman in a simple ceremony where
Doa Selamat and
Doa Kesyukuran were recited. The successful completion of this exercise marked a significant milestone in the development of defence relations between Russia and ASEAN.
The Sea Phase of ARNEX 2021 concluded on 3rd December 2021 with a farewell pass between all participating ships and a closing remark by each ship’s captain. A resounding consensus formed by the participating navies reaffirmed that the objectives of ARNEX were successfully achieved and which every participating ship had obtained high training value on top of confidence building between participating navies.
Upon completion of ARNEX 2021, KDB DARUTTAQWA conducted a passage exercise with RSS VIGOUR of the Republic of Singapore Navy concentrating on manoeuvring and communications exercise as both ships made their way to their respective homeports.
This deployment also gave RBN an opportunity to donate to local Aceh institutions via KDB DARRUTAQWA as she made port at Belawan in Medan, Indonesia. The transfer was conducted on 4th December 2021 utilising a crane to move donations from the flight deck down to the jetty without physical interaction. The staff members of the Office of Defence Attaché of Brunei to the Republic of Indonesia were entrusted to help RBN distribute the donations consisting of Yassin Books, Al-Qurans, prayer mats, as well as office/educational tools to the Regional Military Command and to Pesantren Miftahul Fatayat, an Islamic boarding school in Aceh as a gesture of goodwill.
The ability to participate in and conduct this multilateral exercise in an environment afflicted by COVID-19 shows the resilience of each nation’s navy and demonstrates their adaptive capabilities to a new norm required to achieve continuation and enhancements of defence and naval diplomacy. The Royal Brunei Navy is proud to have successfully achieved this mission and continues to strive to maintain and build upon friendly relations to contribute to the peace and stability of the region in line with the RBN’s mission of defending the maritime sovereignty and territorial integrity of Brunei Darussalam.
