Singapore, China navies begin 5-day joint maritime drills

Singaporean and Chinese navies have begun a bilateral maritime exercise that is set to run till Sept 9.

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said on Saturday (Sept 5) that the exercise, codenamed Exercise Maritime Cooperation, is being held in China's Zhanjiang.

Now in its fifth edition, the exercise which started in 2015, will see the participation of Singapore's Formidable-class frigate Steadfast and the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Jiangkai II-class frigate Dali.

The navies will engage in planning exercises and professional exchanges from Sept 5 to 7, before going out to sea from Sept 8 to 9 to conduct a range of bilateral training, including gunnery firings, communications and manoeuvring exercises, MINDEF said.

It will also include joint search and rescue and medical evacuation drills.

Steadfast is on the final leg of its three-month deployment.

During this period, it has participated in several bilateral and multilateral exercises.

In August, it made a two-day port of call at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal and opened its gangway for Singaporeans based there and the local community to visit.

It had also participated in a high-end naval warfare training along with 30 other navies at Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026, held in waters off Hawaii from June 25 to Aug 1.

"The Republic of Singapore Navy's participation in these exercises enhances mutual learning, understanding and cooperation with a wide network of international partners," MINDEF said. [[nid:740239]]

新加坡和中国海军已开始双边海上联合演习，该演习将持续到9月9日。

中国国防部（MINDEF）周六（9月5日）表示，代号为“海上合作演习”的此次演习正在中国湛江举行。

该演习已举办至第五届，始于 2015 年，新加坡的“可畏”级护卫舰“坚定”号和中国人民解放军海军的“江凯二”级护卫舰“大理”号将参加此次演习。

国防部表示，两国海军将于9月5日至7日进行计划演习和专业交流，然后于9月8日至9日出海进行一系列双边训练，包括炮击、通信和机动演习。

演习还将包括联合搜救和医疗后送演练。

“坚韧不拔”行动已进入为期三个月部署的最后阶段。

在此期间，它参加了多次双边和多边演习。

8 月，该邮轮在东京国际邮轮码头停留了两天，并向在东京的新加坡人和当地社区开放了舷梯供游客参观。

它也曾与 30 个其他国家的海军一起参加了 2026 年环太平洋军事演习，该演习于 6 月 25 日至 8 月 1 日在夏威夷附近海域举行，是一次高端海军作战训练。

新加坡国防部表示：“新加坡海军参与这些演习，有助于加强与广泛国际伙伴网络之间的相互学习、了解与合作。”