Singapore navy begins maritime cooperation exercise with Chinese counterpart

SINGAPORE – The Republic of Singapore Navy is participating in a bilateral maritime cooperation exercise with the Chinese navy from Sept 5 to 9, said the Ministry of Defence.

The opening ceremony of the drill, named Exercise Maritime Cooperation, took place at the Ma Xie Naval Base in Zhanjiang, China, on Sept 5.

It was co-officiated by the Singapore navy’s deputy fleet commander, Colonel Ng Yen Meng, and Rear Admiral Xia Ziming, deputy chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army (Navy)’s Southern Theater Command.

This is the fifth edition of the exercise, which began in 2015, and sees the participation of the Singapore navy’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Steadfast and the Chinese navy’s Jiangkai II-class frigate PLANS Dali.

The exercise comprises a shore phase at the Ma Xie Naval Base from Sept 5 to 7, and a sea phase in waters off Zhanjiang from Sept 8 to 9.

During the shore phase, personnel from both navies will engage in planning exercises and professional exchanges.

At sea, both navies will have an exchange of sea riders and conduct a range of serials. These include gunnery firings, communications and manoeuvring exercises, as well as joint search and rescue and medical evacuation drills.

The RSS Steadfast is on the final leg of its three-month deployment, during which it has participated in several bilateral and multilateral exercises.

These included a passage exercise with the Italian navy, multinational group sails from the Philippines to Hawaii, Exercise Rim of the Pacific, Exercise SINGAPAN with Japan, and the latest exercise with China.

MINDEF said the Singapore navy’s participation in these exercises enhances mutual learning, understanding and cooperation with a wide network of international partners.