Defence Minister Ng Meets with the Sultan and Crown Prince of Brunei

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, who is on a two-day official visit to Brunei to commemorate the 40th anniversary of bilateral defence relations between both countries, had an audience with the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, and the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah. His Majesty and Dr Ng reiterated the importance of the special relationship between Brunei and Singapore, and reaffirmed the close and long-standing bilateral defence relationship. 
 
Speaking at the end of his two-day visit, Dr Ng said, "It has been 40 years of defence ties and we have built very good relations. It is a special relationship because the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops come here to train regularly and many of them are familiar with Temburong, where they do their jungle training." Dr Ng also noted that the Bruneian leaders welcomed the SAF's training in Brunei and agreed that bilateral exchanges between both defence establishments were important.
 
Prior to the audience with His Majesty and His Royal Highness, Dr Ng visited Exercise Pelican, a bilateral flagship naval exercise conducted by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) off the waters of Brunei. This year's exercise, held from 24 to 31 August 2016, is the 35th in its series and involves the RSN's Formidable-class stealth frigate RSS Supreme and S-70B Seahawk naval helicopter, as well as the RBN's Darussalam-class patrol vessel KDB Darulehsan and Ijhtihad-class patrol boat KDB Syafaat. Hosted by Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy First Admiral Pengiran Dato Seri Pahlawan Norazmi bin Pengiran Haji Muhammad, Dr Ng observed the KDB Darulehsan operating with the RSN's S-70B naval helicopter in a naval warfare exercise and a demonstration of the S-70B naval helicopter landing on the KDB Darulehsan. On his visit to Exercise Pelican, Dr Ng said, "Our RSN helicopter landing on the RBN ship -- a simple manoeuvre but it speaks volumes of the trust and interoperability between both our militaries. This has come about because we exercise very frequently and it is mutually beneficial."
 
First conducted in 1979, Exercise Pelican has contributed to enhancing the level of interoperability between both navies through tactical discussions and simulation exercises in naval warfare. Besides Exercise Pelican, the RSN and the RBN also interact regularly through a range of activities, including visits, professional exchanges and cross-attendance of courses.
 
As part of his programme, Dr Ng also met with Bruneian Minister of Energy and Industry Pehin Yasmin Umar and Chairman of the National Security Committee, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hamdan bin Haji Abu Bakar earlier today.

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Interview with Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen on his visit to Brunei