Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy Receives Prestigious Military Award

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen congratulating Admiral (ADM) Ade Supandi after the Meritorious Service Medal (Military) MSM(M) Investiture.

The Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL), Admiral (ADM) Ade Supandi, was conferred Singapore's prestigious military award, the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) [or Meritorious Service Medal (Military)], by President Halimah Yacob. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented the award to ADM Supandi at an investiture held at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning.

ADM Supandi was conferred the award in recognition of his outstanding contributions in forging excellent ties and friendship between the TNI-AL and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). Since his appointment as Chief of Staff of the TNI-AL, ties between the TNI-AL and RSN have grown from strength to strength through activities such as bilateral navy-to-navy talks, exercises, professional exchanges, port calls as well as cross-attendance of courses. Last March, both navies celebrated more than 40 years of bilateral naval ties. The two navies co-hosted the 6th Western Pacific Mine Countermeasure Exercise in August 2015, which involved 16 countries(1), and continued collaborating on socio-civic missions in Indonesia under Operations Surya Bhaskara Jaya. ADM Supandi's strong commitment to deepen bilateral cooperation in the area of maritime security was evident in his support of the Malacca Straits Patrol to counter piracy in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, and in the attachment of TNI-AL officers to the Singapore Armed Forces' Combined Task Force 151 Command Team and Task Group Deployments to deter and disrupt piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Under ADM Supandi, the TNI-AL also participated in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference Asia 2017 and the RSN's inaugural International Maritime Review.

On receiving the award, ADM Supandi said, "I am greatly delighted and honoured to receive the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera), (as) this marks the close, mutual relationship between our navies as well as our countries that was first established 50 years back." He added that he hopes "the ties between our navies will develop (through) constructive engagement in the coming years".

ADM Supandi, who is in Singapore from 23 to 24 November 2017, called on Dr Ng, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Perry Lim, and Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong prior to the investiture. He also inspected a Guard of Honour contingent at MINDEF this morning.

(1) The 16 participating countries were Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam.

ADM Supandi inspecting the Guard of Honour at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning.

ADM Supandi calling on Dr Ng at MINDEF prior to the MSM(M) Investiture.