The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) have participated in a bilateral naval exercise, Singsiam 2013, which drew to a close during a ceremony held at the 3rd Naval Area Command Headquarters, Phuket, Thailand.
During the two-week Singapore-Thai naval exercise, hosted by the RTN, personnel from both the nations conducted shore planning phase at Changi Naval Base, as well as a sea phase in the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea.
Naval assets of the RSN including a frigate, a missile corvette, and a submarine as well as a missile corvette, an anti-submarine warfare corvette and an off-shore patrol vessel participated in the drill.
Held from 25 November to 6 December, the exercise also involved Thai Navy’s two Sikorsky-developed S-70B naval helicopters and one Dornier-228 twin-turboprop short takeoff and landing (STOL) maritime patrol aircraft.
RSN’s 188 Squadron commanding officer, colonel Alan Goh said: "The successful completion of the exercise significantly enhanced the level of interoperability, mutual understanding and friendship between personnel from both navies, and is testament to the close and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and Thailand."
The bilateral naval exercise, the 17th in its series, evolved from conventional naval warfare exercises to exercises incorporating aerial and underwater warfare scenarios, while expanding in scope and complexity over the years.
Image: Singapore Navy and Thai Navy personnel performing shore planning at Changi Naval Base. Photo: © 2013 Government of Singapore.
