UK military personnel joined Indo-Pacific allies for the first of two major exercises this year off the coast of Malaysia. Patrol ship HMS Tamar, a Royal Marines boarding team, and RAF personnel demonstrated Britain’s ongoing commitment to the safety and security of the region, participating in Exercise Bersama Shield, a two week-long multilateral exercise in support of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA).
Bersama means together in Malay. The FPDA, signed in 1971 between the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, is Southeast Asia’s only collective security arrangement. The FPDA exercise programme has expanded to include annual joint military exercises, cooperation on countering terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
“The exercise has been a fantastic opportunity for Tamar to work with our FPDA partner navies, strengthening our relationships and building tactical integration between forces,” said Tamar’s Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Matthew Millyard.
Exercise Bersama Shield is the first of two exercises in 2022; in the autumn, Singapore will host Exercise Suman Protector. During Bersama Shield, a joint naval task group trained closely together, working on surface and anti-air warfare techniques as well as live firing drills. Tamar worked closely with Singapore’s RSS Valour and Malaysia’s KD Selangor, while Malaysian fast attack craft played the role of enemy during training to defend against attacks.
