BOLKIAH GARRISON, Monday 11 April 2016 – The Deputy Minister of Defence, First Admiral (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Aziz bin Haji Mohd Tamit this morning received a courtesy call from Admiral Scott H Swift, the United States Pacific Fleet Commander, at Bolkiah Garrison.
Admiral Swift is on a goodwill visit to Brunei Darussalam from 10 – 11 April 2016. Also present during the call was Abu Sufian bin Haji Ali, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Defence Policy and Planning) and Captain Haji Othman bin Haji Suhaili, Deputy Commander of Royal Brunei Navy.
During the call, Admiral Swift commended Brunei Darussalam’s strong leadership through the ASEAN Defence Minister (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus framework, in particular Brunei’s initiative in establishing the Direct Communications Link (DCL) between the ASEAN Defence Ministers.
The Deputy Minister thanked the United States for their continued support in the upcoming ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism Exercise that is scheduled to be held in Bandar Seri Begawan and Singapore early next month.
Both sides also discussed on regional issues and their commitment to strengthening the existing bilateral defence relation through CARAT exercise, exchange of visits, joint training and promoting dialogue between defence and military officials. The Deputy Minister thanked Admiral Swift for his commitment in strengthening the defence relationship and in return, Admiral Swift reassured that US PACOM will continue to be close partner and again congratulated Brunei for showing strong regional leadership.
The call ended with an exchange of momentos between the Deputy Minister and the U.S Pacific Fleet Commander.
