The Royal Australian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy have completed the bilateral Exercise SINGAROO in Southeast Asia, marking its 25th year.
This year, the guided missile destroyer HMAS Hobart, auxiliary oiler HMAS Sirius and an embarked MH-60R helicopter joined four Singaporean warships, a submarine, and aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force to train together to enhance professional ties and interoperability.
HMA Ships Hobart and Sirius left their home ports in June for a Regional Presence Deployment to exercise in Southeast Asia and Hawaii, and participated in Exercise SINGAROO as they returned transit through the region.
Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, said Exercise SINGAROO is a biennial event built on existing shared mariner skills between both navies.
“Operating effectively together at sea relies on regular joint training opportunities to improve our interoperability. This three-day exercise underlines the importance of military-to-military cooperation as an avenue to hone our expertise and build on our ability to work together,” Minister Reynolds said.
“This year marks a quarter century of Exercise SINGAROO, underlining the long-standing nature of our defence relationship with Singapore, which shares our commitment to regional security.”
The Regional Presence Deployment demonstrates Australia’s commitment to sustaining strong and positive defence relationships with regional nations as well as the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.