Vietnam sent Hospital Ship 561, led by Rear Admiral Pham Xuan Diep, Deputy-Commander of the Vietnam People’s Navy, to the exercise.
Delivering his opening speech, Admiral Ade Supandi, Chief-of-Staff of the Indonesian Navy, said that countries are paying due attention to exercises to cope with non-traditional security challenges, including humanitarian relief and natural disasters.
    |
 |
|
Head of participating contingents beating Gendang drum to kick off the exercise |
Under the theme “Cooperation for Natural Disasters Prevention and Humanitarian Assistance,” MNEK 2018 underlines the importance of cooperation among naval forces on humanitarian assistance and maritime security issues, he added.
This year’s exercise draws naval forces from 37 countries from ASEAN and its partners.
Immediately after the launching ceremony, Admiral Supandi and heads of participating contingents joined a fleet review with the participation of 50 vessels.
In addition, a number of other activities were also held on the same day, including a command-and-staff exercise centered on humanitarian aid and natural disaster mitigation activities at sea, a medical and civil engineering program, a street parade and coastal artistic performances.
MNEK has been held every two years by the Indonesian Navy since 2014. The exercise was carried out at the initiative of Indonesia and agreed between ASEAN and its partner countries within the framework of ADMM+ (ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus), the ASEAN Naval Chiefs' Meeting (ACNM) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Translated by Minh Anh