The ASEAN-Russia Naval Exercise (ARNEX) 2021 was the first-ever multilateral naval exercise between ASEAN and Russia that was officiated on 1 December 2021 and concluded on 3 December 2021. This inaugural exercise was conducted within Indonesian territorial waters off the coast of North Sumatra, the Republic of Indonesia, involving eight (8) ships, three (3) helicopters and one (1) Maritime Patrol Aircraft from Russia and seven (7) ASEAN member nations: Brunei Darussalam, Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Republic of Singapore, Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
ARNEX 2021 aims to strengthen ASEAN-Russia relations and acts as an important platform in enhancing naval cooperation, confidence building, and fostering friendship at all levels. To that end, KDB DARUTTAQWA, captained by Commander Saiful Hazril bin Ali, RBN with a crew of fifty-eight (58) personnel, departed Muara Naval Base Brunei and embarked on a 16-day deployment beginning 25 November 2021. Prior to that, a farewell ceremony was conducted for KDB DARUTTAQWA’s deployment and attended by First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Spry bin Haji Serudi @Seruji, Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) and the RBN Executive Board members to hand over donations for the Aceh community. The ceremony concluded with the recitation of Doa Selamat.
KDB DARUTTAQWA anchored off the coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia, on 29 November 2021 at Belawan Anchorage Area and participated in the opening ceremony virtually along with all participating countries on 1 December 2021. The ceremony was also attended by Rear Admiral Arsyad Abdullah, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut (TNI-AL) First Fleet Commander; His Excellency Mr Alexander A. Ivanov, Russian Ambassador to ASEAN; Lyumila Vorobieva, Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia; Captain (Navy) Wawan Trisatya Atmaja, TNI-AL, Commander Task Group (CTG) of the Exercise, and respective countries’ Defence and Naval Attachés.
The opening ceremony welcomed all participants and reaffirmed the objectives of ARNEX 2021 as a step forward in the development of ASEAN-Russia relations. An ‘Admiral Inspection’ was then conducted by Rear Admiral Arsyad Abdullah onboard KRI LEPU, TNI-AL First Fleet Commander, and joined by the Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia and respective nations’ Defence and Naval Attachés.
The Sea Phase of ARNEX 2021 commenced on 2 December 2021 and included exercise serials consisting of communications, ship handling, search and rescue and helicopter deck landing exercises. All exercises were conducted following COVID-19 guidelines and precautions to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmissions between participants.
Aside from KDB DARUTTAQWA, ships involved were KRI I GUSTI NGURAH RAI from the Indonesian Navy, KD LEKIU from Royal Malaysian Navy, UMS KING KYAN SIT TAR from the Myanmar Navy, RSS VIGOUR from the Republic of Singapore Navy, HTMS KRABURI from the Royal Thai Navy, LY THAI TO from the Viet Nam People’s Navy and ADM PANTELEYEV from Russian Navy. The Sea Phase played its role as a vital platform in flourishing and strengthening naval activities between ASEAN and Russia.
ARNEX 2021 was concluded with a farewell pass, and each ship’s captain gave remarks to all units. Participating nations reaffirmed that they had successfully achieved the objectives of ARNEX and had acquired high training value whilst building confidence between participating navies.
KDB DARUTTAQWA conducted a passage exercise with RSS VIGOUR of the Republic of Singapore Navy as both ships made their way to their respective homeports, concentrating on manoeuvring and communications exercises. This deployment also gave RBN an opportunity to donate to local Aceh institutions through KDB DARRUTAQWA as she made port at Belawan in Medan, Indonesia. The transfer was conducted on 4 December 2021, utilising a crane to move donations from the flight deck down to the jetty without physical human interaction.
KDB DARUTTAQWA returned to Muara Naval Base, Brunei Darussalam, on 10 December 2021 and will undergo quarantine and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests as further precautionary measures against COVID-19 in line with the Ministry of Health’s regulations.
The ability to participate in and conduct this multilateral exercise in an environment afflicted by COVID-19 shows the resilience of each nation’s navy and demonstrates their adaptive capabilities to a new normal required to achieve continuation and enhancements of defence and naval diplomacy. The RBN is proud to have completed this mission and continues to strive to maintain and build upon friendly relations to contribute to the peace and stability of the region in line with the RBN’s mission of defending the maritime sovereignty and territorial integrity of Brunei Darussalam.
DA Brunei to Indonesia receiving salute from KDB DARUTTAQWA
during Admiral Inspection.
His Excellency Alexander A. Ivanov, Russian Ambassador to ASEAN
giving his opening remarks. Commanding Officer and Executive
Officer of KDB DARUTTAQWA attending opening ceremony virtually.
Ships in formation for photo Exercise during ARNEX 2021 Sea Phase
KDB DARUTTAQWA presents herself during Admiral Inspection
PENYERTAAN TENTERA LAUT DIRAJA BRUNEI DALAM ASEAN-RUSSIA NAVAL EXERCISE 2021
ASEAN-Russia Naval Exercise (ARNEX) 2021 adalah latihan tentera laut pelbagai hala di antara negara-negara ASEAN dan Rusia buat julung kalinya yang dirasmikan pada 1 Disember 2021 dan berakhir pada 3 Disember 2021. Latihan ini dilaksanakan di perairan Indonesia di persisiran pantai Sumatra dan melibatkan lapan buah kapal, tiga buah helikopter dan sebuah kapal terbang pemantauan laut daripada Rusia dan tujuh negara-negara ASEAN iaitu Brunei Darussalam, Republik Indonesia, Malaysia, Republik Kesatuan Myanmar, Republik Singapore, Kerajaan Thailand and Republik Sosialis Viet Nam.
ARNEX 2021 bertujuan untuk menguatkan lagi hubungan di antara ASEAN dan Rusia dan bertindak sebagai platform dalam meningkatkan kerjasama tentera laut, membina keyakinan, dan memupuk persahabatan di semua peringkat. Dengan tujuan itu, KDB DARUTTAQWA, yang diketuai oleh Komander Saiful Hazril bin Ali, TLDB dengan lima puluh lapan (58) orang anggota, berlepas dari Pangkalan Tentera Laut Muara, Negara Brunei Darussalam bagi memulakan perjalanan selama 16 hari dari 25 November 2021. Sebelum pelayaran dimulakan, majlis perpisahan diadakan untuk KDB DARUTTAQWA yang dihadiri oleh Laksamana Pertama Dato Seri Pahlawan Spry bin Haji Serudi @Seruji, Pemerintah Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei (TLDB), serta anggota Badan Eksekutif TLDB untuk penyerahan sumbangan yang akan disampaikan kepada komuniti Aceh dan diakhiri dengan bacaan Doa Selamat.
KDB DARUTTAQWA telah pun berlabuh di pesisir pantai Sumatera Utara, Indonesia pada 29 November 2021 di
Belawan Anchorage Area dan menyertai Majlis Perasmian Latihan secara dalam talian pada 1 Disember 2021. Majlis tersebut juga dihadiri oleh Laksamana Muda Arsyad Abdullah, Pemerintah Armada Pertama Tentera Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut (TNI-AL); Alexander A. Ivanov, Duta Rusia ke ASEAN; Lyudmila Vorobieva, Duta Rusia ke Republik Indonesia; Kepten (Laut) Wawan Trisatya Atmaja, TNI-AL,
Commander Task Group (CTG) Latihan, dan Atasé Pertahanan dan Tenteta Laut dari negara-negara yang terlibat.
Majlis Perasmian tersebut telah mengalukan-alukan semua peserta dan menekankan lagi tujuan ARNEX 2021 sebagai langkah peningkatan hubungan antara ASEAN dan Rusia. Sejurus selepas majlis perasmian, ‘Admiral Inspection’ telah dilaksanakan oleh Pemerintah Armada Pertama TNI-AL dari KRI LEPU dan disertai oleh Duta Rusia ke Indonesia dan Atasé Pertahanan dan Tentera Laut dari negara-negara yang terlibat.
Fasa Laut ARNEX 2021 dimulakan pada 2 Disember 2021 dan meliputi latihan-latihan komunikasi, pengendalian kapal, operasi mencari dan menyelamat, serta pendaratan helikopter atas kapal. Kesemua latihan tersebut telah dikendalikan mengikut garis pandu dan langkah jaga-jaga bagi mengurangkan risiko penularan wabak COVID19 di antara peserta.
Selain daripada KDB DARUTTAQWA, kapal-kapal yang terlibat adalah KRI I GUSTI NGURAH RAI dari TNI-AL, KD LEKIU dari Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia, UMS KING KYAN SIT TAR dari Tentera Laut Myanmar, RSS VIGOUR dari Tentera Laut Republik Singapura, HTMS KRABURI dari Tentera Laut Diraja Thailand, LY THAI TO dari Tentera Laut Rakyat Viet Nam dan ADM PANTELEYEV dari Tentera Laut Rusia. Fasa Laut telah pun memainkan peranan penting untuk meningkatkan aktiviti tentera laut di antara ASEAN dan Rusia.
ARNEX 2021 telah diakhiri dengan perpisahan belayar lalu dan ucapan daripada setiap Pegawai Pemerintah kapal-kapal terlibat yang mana mereka bersetuju bahawa tujuan latihan telah pun tercapai dan setiap tentera laut terlibat mendapatkan nilai latihan yang tinggi selain meningkatkan keyakinan di antara yang terlibat.
Semasa KDB DARUTTAQWA membuat pelayaran pulang ke Brunei Darussalam, KDB DARUTTAQWA telah melaksanakan latihan laluan (Passage exercise) bersama RSS VIGOUR, Tentera Laut Republik Singapura yang merangkumi latihan komunikasi dan
Manoeuvring Exercise. Pelayaran ini juga telah memberi peluang kepada TLDB untuk menyampaikan sumbangan kepada institusi Aceh di mana KDB DARUTTAQWA berlabuh di Pelabuhan Belawan, Medan, Indonesia pada 4 Disember 2021. Sumbangan daripada TLDB dipindahkan dari kapal ke jeti menggunakan kren untuk melaksanakan pemindahan tersebut tanpa interaksi fizikal.
KDB DARUTTAQWA telah kembali ke Pangkalan Tentera Laut Muara pada 10 Disember 2021 di mana anggota-anggota kapal akan menjalani kuarantin dan ujian
PCR sebagai langkah-langkah keselamatan tambahan mengikut peraturan-peraturan yang dikeluarkan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan.
Keupayaan untuk menyertai dan melaksanakan latihan ini semasa COVID-19 masih lagi berleluasa menunjukkan daya ketahanan dan keupayaan penyesuaian yang cepat kepada norma baharu yang diperlukan demi mempertahankan dan meningkatkan hubungan dan diplomasi pertahanan. TLDB juga turut berbangga atas perlaksanaan pelayaran ini dan akan terus berusaha dalam pengekalan dan pembinaan hubungan yang baik demi keamanan serantau ke arah misi TLDB iaitu mempertahankan kedaulatan maritim dan integriti Negara Brunei Darussalam.