Singapore and Brunei Successfully Conclude 24th Edition of Exercise Maju Bersama

Chief of Army Major-General (MG) Goh Si Hou and Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF) Brigadier-General (BG) Dato Seri Pahlawan Awang Khairul Hamed bin Awang Haji Lampoh co-officiated the closing ceremony of Exercise Maju Bersama yesterday.

Chief of Army, Major-General (MG) Goh Si Hou and Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF), Brigadier-General Dato Seri Pahlawan Awang Khairul Hamed bin Awang Haji Lampoh co-officiated the closing ceremony of Exercise Maju Bersama yesterday in Berakas Garrison, Muara District, Brunei.

The 24th edition of the bilateral exercise was conducted from 30 January to 8 February 2020 and involved 121 participants from the Singapore Army's 3rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment and 122 participants from the 1st Battalion, RBLF. The exercise consisted of professional exchanges as well as platoon and company-level urban operations training. It culminated in an integrated assault conducted by both forces on a simulated urban objective.

At the closing ceremony, MG Goh highlighted the importance of Exercise Maju Bersama. He said, "We have come a long way since the exercise first started in 1995. Then, we started the exercise with the goal to build stronger cooperation and mutual trust between both Armies. This remains relevant today for Brunei and Singapore, as two small countries in a dynamic and uncertain security environment." He added that, "Apart from military training, you also participated in various sports and team building activities that brought our two Armies closer together. And this is perhaps the most important goal of the exercise. After all, our strong bilateral ties are built on the foundation of close people-to people relationships".

Exercise Maju Bersama underscores the close and long-standing defence relations between Singapore and Brunei and provides an excellent opportunity for both countries to strengthen army-to-army professional interactions. Apart from Exercise Maju Bersama, the Singapore Army and the RBLF also interact regularly through other bilateral and multilateral exercises, visits and professional exchanges, which have fostered mutual understanding and enhanced interoperability between the two armies.

Soldiers from the Singapore Army and RBLF taking part in a professional exchange.

Soldiers from the Singapore Army and RBLF training together in urban operations.