The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) - Indonesian National Defence Forces (TNI) Counter-Terrorism Table-Top Exercise (CT TTX) 2017 concluded this morning. The closing ceremony was officiated by the SAF's Director Joint Operations, Brigadier-General (BG) Tan Chee Wee and Senior Officer of Experts Staff to TNI Commander for Economy and Trade Sector, BG Edison Simanjuntak, S.I.P.

Conducted in Singapore from 28 to 29 November 2017, the two-day exercise involved 27 personnel from the SAF and TNI, as well as from respective homeland security agencies. The SAF delegation was led by Head SAF Current Operations Group, Colonel (COL) Lim Kok Hong and the TNI delegation was led by Senior Staff Officer for Joint Exercise Office of TNI Headquarters, COL Achmad Budi Handoyo. Both the SAF and TNI delegations comprised members from their respective Operations and Intelligence departments, as well as personnel from their Special Operations and Maritime Security Task Forces. The SAF-TNI CT TTX also involved the participation of homeland security forces from the Singapore Police Force and the Indonesian National Agency for Combating Terrorism [Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme (BNPT)].

The CT TTX provided participants from both sides a platform to discuss and share their operational responses and knowledge on various possible terrorist-related scenarios, including bomb threats in public areas, vehicle ramming into pedestrians and gunmen attacking the public in shopping malls. Through the discussion and sharing sessions, the SAF and TNI were able to enhance mutual understanding on each other's CT operations, identify the areas for improvements and strengthen inter-agency cooperation against the regional threat of terrorism.

Sharing his thoughts after the exercise, COL Lim said, "The SAF-TNI CT TTX is a very useful exercise, because it allows both our forces to work through our operational challenges and our response as we face the common threat of terrorism. I am very heartened to see the camaraderie and the high level of professionalism between the participants from both sides throughout the exercise."

The SAF-TNI CT TTX underscores the close and long-standing bilateral relationship between Singapore and Indonesia for the past 50 years, and is also a strong testament to the commitment of both sides to combat the threat of terrorism in the region. Besides exercising together, both the SAF and TNI also engage in a wide range of bilateral activities such as visits, professional exchanges and cross-attendance of courses. These regular interactions have enhanced the interoperability and mutual understanding between the two armed forces.