RSN IN MULTILATERAL EXERCISE ON COUNTERING UNCONVENTIONAL THREATS

Naval personnel from 10 countries, including Singapore, came together to share experiences and information on dealing with explosives and other terrorist threats in a diving exercise, or DIVEX, from 25 Mar to 5 Apr.

DIVEX 2011 was held in conjunction with the 4th Western Pacific Mine Countermeasures Exercise (MCMEX) and 3rd Naval Medicine Seminar, and conducted under the ambit of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS).

The multilateral exercise involved professional sharing among naval Explosive Ordnance Demolition (EOD) teams from various navies, on sub-surface and surface operational responses against unconventional terrorist threats.

Divers from these navies also worked together to execute missions like basic demolition in shallow water, improvised explosive device response and unexploded ordnance response.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of DIVEX at Changi Naval Base on 5 Apr, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral (RADM) Ng Chee Peng said the exercise showed that participants from diverse cultures were able to come together to address common security issues.

"These achievements speak volumes of the progress of the 20-member WPNS and four observer navies and are a clear display of the commitment and support of the member navies to regional security," said RADM Ng.

Major (MAJ) Tony Tan, a diver from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)'s Naval Diving Unit and a participant of DIVEX, explained that the global shift from the conventional to unconventional maritime threats had made it important to keep abreast of the latest technologies and procedures to deal with them.

The exercise also saw the deployment of new robots for shipboard EOD and the fly-away EOD capability to deal with imminent threats in the maritime domain.

"The air insertion of naval EOD is a key milestone in DIVEX and will serve as a new benchmark for subsequent exercises," said RADM Ng.

On the successful conclusion of DIVEX, MAJ Tan said: :"The exercise has provided a platform for the commanders and operators to interact with WPNS navies.

"The professional exchanges and sharing of experiences have also allowed us to enhance our current operating procedures."

Lieutenant (LTA) Joe Morgan an explosives Disposal Ordnance Officer from the United States Navy agreed: "It was a pleasure for us to work with the RSN and to share our experience in different theatres.

"There will be many opportunities to work with each other in the future and forming a positive relationship with each other is one of the best things we were able to get out of this."

To mark the closure of DIVEX, MCMEX and the Naval Medicine Seminar, 250 participants were also involved in a community event, codenamed Eco Frog, on 4 Apr at Pulau Sudong. They did their bit for the environment by clearing debris found on the beaches and the breakwater.