Singapore, Brunei mark 50 years of defence ties with joint parade

SINGAPORE - Singapore and Brunei reaffirmed 50 years of defence ties with a joint parade at the Muara Naval Base in Brunei on Oct 10.

The parade, which was attended by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, featured 256 personnel and operational assets from land, naval and air forces across the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF).

A sail-past by the Republic of Singapore Navy and Royal Brunei Navy, as well as a fly-past by two of the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s H225M Medium Lift helicopters and three of the RBAF’s S-70i Blackhawk helicopters, took place during the parade.

Many of the participating personnel had taken part in bilateral exercises before the parade, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Oct 10.

Other guests at the parade were Singapore’s Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing and Chief of Defence Force Vice-Admiral Aaron Beng, as well as Brunei’s Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (MG) (Ret) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Halbi Bin Haji Mohd Yussof and Commander of the RBAF MG Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan.

In a Facebook post on Oct 10, PM Wong said: “Singapore deeply values our special friendship with Brunei Darussalam. As we celebrate how far we have come together, I look forward to continuing to strengthen these ties between our countries in the years ahead.”

He said the joint parade brought together personnel and assets from both countries and across the Army, Navy and Air Force, reflecting the strong bonds that were built over the past five decades through training and working alongside one another.

After the parade, PM Wong and the Sultan launched and toured a commemorative gallery featuring key milestones in the countries’ bilateral defence relationship over the past 50 years.

PM Wong also met SAF personnel training in Temburong, where he interacted with servicemen and engaged them on their training experiences.

The parade marks a key milestone in a year-long series of activities commemorating the Golden Jubilee, including bilateral exercises that “reflect both sides’ commitment to further strengthen the defence relationship in the years ahead”, MINDEF said.

This will culminate in a closing dinner hosted by Brunei in Singapore on Nov 21. Looking ahead, both countries will build on “five decades of mutual trust and close cooperation”, identify new areas where both sides can bring value to each other and create opportunities for successive generations of personnel to further strengthen ties.

PM Wong’s trip to Brunei comes about a week after Brunei Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah met PM Wong during an official visit to Singapore that ended on Oct 2.

During the five-day visit, Billah also met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, among other officials.

In July, Singapore and Brunei reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties when SM Lee visited the South-east Asian state for the Sultan’s 80th birthday celebrations.

Both countries said then that they would explore ways to deepen bilateral cooperation across a wide range of areas, including energy and food security, supply chain resilience and people-to-people exchanges.

In 2027, the two countries will also mark the 60th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement, which allows the Brunei and Singapore currencies to be used interchangeably in both countries.

Isabelle Liew is a journalist at The Straits Times. She covers housing issues in Singapore, with a focus on public housing.