SINGAPORE – The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) are taking part in a nine-day bilateral exercise involving a search-and rescue operation.
The sixth annual Search-and-Rescue Exercise (Sarex) Malsing takes place from May 7 to 15 at Kuantan Air Base, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said on May 9.
The RSAF’s H225M and the RMAF’s EC725 helicopters will be participating in the exercise, along with their search-and-rescue air crew and ground crew.
Participants from the air forces of both countries have conducted aerial searches for survivors near Pulau Tioman in Malaysia and evacuated simulated casualties for immediate medical attention, Mindef said.
Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Lim Seng Wee, RSAF Commanding Officer, 125 Squadron, and Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmad Farhan bin Ahmad, RMAF, Commanding Officer of 10 Squadron, co-officiated the opening ceremony of Sarex Malsing at Kuantan Air Base on May 8.
LTC Lim said at the ceremony: “This annual bilateral exercise provides both air forces with an important platform and excellent opportunities to collaborate, interoperate and train together in life-saving search-and-rescue operations.
“We stay committed to improving our search-and-rescue operations to save lives through our regular collaboration. It is also a testament to the warm and long-standing defence relations between the two countries.”
Singapore’s Chief of Staff, Air Staff, Brigadier-General Ho Kum Luen, and the deputy chief of the RMAF, Lieutenant-General Datuk Seri Haji Muhamad Norazlan bin Aris, will be co-officiating the closing ceremony on May 14 at Kuantan Air Base.
Sarex Malsing, which was introduced in 2018, seeks to enhance the professionalism and defence relations between the two air forces, and foster closer rapport and mutual cooperation among the personnel, said Mindef.
Other than Sarex Malsing, the RSAF and RMAF also interact regularly across a wide range of activities, including bilateral visits and professional exchanges, as well as in multilateral activities under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), added the ministry.
Consisting of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, the FPDA was formed in 1971 with the aim of safeguarding the external defence of Singapore and Malaysia, amid the withdrawal of British forces from Singapore.
