BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei and the United States kicked off a series of military drills aimed at improving cooperation to address regional security threats.
Designed to enhance the interoperability and capabilities of both armed forces, the 25th Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) was launched at the Muara Naval Base here on Tuesday.
The annual exercise, which will see onshore and at-sea training until Oct 31, involves the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), US Navy and US Marine Corps.
RBAF Joint Force Commander Brigadier General Datuk Seri Mohammad Sharif Ibrahim said maritime security and counter-terrorism are the two key areas of mutual concern.
“Within the region, not a single country within Asean would deny that counter-terrorism is of the highest priority.
“The maritime domain has been used for the movement and transport of potential aggressors and extremists that come to our region, so the better we can monitor the maritime domain, the better we can share that information with [our partners] within the region,” he said according to The Scoop.
"The level of information sharing and the openness makes the region that much more secure,” he added.
The assets deployed include the US Navy’s USS Harpers Ferry, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The RBAF did not disclose which of its assets would be used during the eight-day exercise.
CARAT is a bilateral exercise series between the US Navy and the armed forces of nine partner nations.
Apart from Brunei, the others are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
Brunei has been a CARAT partner since 1995.
Mohd Sharif said the growth of the CARAT exercise goes beyond military-to-military engagement.
“As we plan for future CARAT exercises, we will be seeing greater integration of government departments as well as higher educational institutions,” he said.
This time round CARAT also involve several other local agencies such as the Judge Advocate General’s Office, Royal Brunei Police Force, Maritime Port Authority Brunei Darussalam, Fisheries Department, Narcotics Control Bureau, Attorney General’s Chambers, Emergency Medical Ambulance Services, and Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
US Task Force 73 Commander Rear Admiral Murray Joe “JT” Tynch said the planning and execution at these events allow the participants to test the interoperability of its planning and equipment, so that they can communicate and work together.