BOLKIAH GARRISON, Monday 22 April 2013 - Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Reedman, new Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion Royal Ghurka Rifles, British Army made a courtesy call to the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri  Paduka  Haji Abidin. Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Reedman took over the command of  Second Battalion Royal Ghurka Rifles, British Army early this month.

By Lt Wafa Nabilah Rusdi Abdullah

MERAGANG, Jumaat 19 April 2013 – Satu Majlis Doa Selamat bagi Memulakan Pembinaan Akademi Pertahanan Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei telah berlangsung di tapak pembangunan baru Akademi Pertahanan Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei di Meragang. Majlis tersebut dimulakan dengan bacaan surah Al-Fatihah, diikuti dengan bacaan ayat-ayat suci Al-Quran yang di ketuai oleh Kapten Ariffin bin Amit, Ketua Jabatan Agama Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei.

Hadir dimajlis tersebut ialah Mejar Jeneral Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, Pemerintah Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei.

By Siti Zahira Hj Abu Bakar

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Friday 19 April 2013 –The Final Planning Conference (FPC) for the 2nd ASEAN Militaries’ Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) was held this morning at the Rizqun International Hotel, here in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The meeting was co-chaired by First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Aziz Haji Mohd Tamit, Joint Force Commander, Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and Brigadier General Ngien Hoon Ping, Director of Joint Operation Department, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), in their capacities as the co-hosts of the 2nd AHX.  Participants of the meeting consisted of representatives from all ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat.

By Siti Zahira Hj Abu Bakar

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Thursday 18 April 2013 – The Final Planning Conference (FPC) for the inaugural ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and Military Medicine (MM) Exercise came to a close today.

The FPC was hosted by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and held at the Rizqun Hotel, Gadong. The FPC Chairman, First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Abd Aziz bin Haji Mohd Tamit, Joint Force Commander RBAF in his remarks expressed his gratitude and high note of confidence as well as high level of understanding to the ADMM-Plus member nations for their excellent inputs and professional ideas they shared during the FPC which are very critical for the successful execution of the exercise in June.

By Siti Zahira Hj Abu Bakar

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Monday 15 April 2013 – The delegations from the 18 ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus countries which consists of all ASEAN Member States, and Dialogue Partners of Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States kicked off the Final Planning Conference in preparation for the very first ADMM-Plus HADR/Military Medicine Exercise, to be held in Brunei Darussalam, from 17-20 June 2013.

The conference was held at the Rizqun International Hotel, in Bandar Seri Begawan. The FPC will finalize logistics and administrative preparations, consolidate exercise papers and document the exercise players nominated by respective nation.

RIMBA, Friday, 12 April 2013 - Handover-takeover ceremony for the outgoing and incoming Base Commander of the Rimba Air Force took place at the Rimba Air Force Base. The ceremony began with the signing of handover-takeover certificate between the outgoing Base Commander, Lt Col (U) Lusir bin Sian and the incoming Base Commander, Lt Col (U) Matyussof bin Matyassin.

The ceremony also involves the handover of the key replica of the Rimba Air Force Base to the new incoming Base Commander, as well as the tree-planting ceremony carried out by Lt Col (U) Lusir bin Sian outside the RBAirF Headquarter area.

SHANGHAI, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, Thursday, 11 April 2013 - The second ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Defence Officials’ Dialogue (DOD) meeting for the inter-sessional year 2012-2013 was held at the Grand Central Hotel in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The DOD was co-chaired by Haji Adi Ihram bin Dato Paduka Haji Mahmud, Acting Director Defence Policy, Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam and RADM Li Ji, Deputy Chief, Foreign Affairs Office, Ministry of National Defence, People’s Republic of China.

In his opening remarks, the Brunei Co-Chair stated that the regional security situation is likely to remain dynamic in the foreseeable future. He viewed that the prevailing challenges to the regional security have presented the opportunities for a broader cooperation to better manage issues, particularly those which could lead to tension and hostilities.