The Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), First Admiral (FADM) Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Aziz bin Haji Mohammad Tamit, was conferred Singapore's prestigious military award, the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) [or the Meritorious Service Medal (Military)], by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented the award to FADM Dato Aziz at an investiture held at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning.

The medal was awarded to FADM Dato Aziz in recognition of his significant contributions in fostering excellent ties between the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in his previous appointment as Commander RBN. Under FADM Dato Aziz's leadership, bilateral relations between the two navies have grown from strength to strength through a wide array of interactions. Bilateral naval exercise codenamed Exercise Pelican expanded in scope and complexity, while the RBN and RSN also sailed-in-company to the multilateral exercise, Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), in 2014. FADM Dato Aziz supported the deployment of Bruneian Liaison Officers to the Information Fusion Centre at Changi Naval Base. He also played a key role in furthering practical cooperation within the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM-Plus. As Joint Force Commander, FADM Dato Aziz oversaw the 2nd ASEAN militaries' Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise co-hosted by Brunei and Singapore, and the ADMM-Plus HADR and Military Medicine Exercise in 2013. These extensive bilateral interactions have strengthened the camaraderie and friendship between the personnel of the two armed forces.

FADM Dato Aziz, who is in Singapore from 10 to 11 Jun 2015, had earlier called on Dr Ng and Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Lai Chung Han at MINDEF before the investiture.