May 12, 2017 | 21:35 (GMT+7)
VPN warship joins multilateral sea exercise
PANO – After 57 hours travelling from Cam Ranh Military Port to Singapore to attend the first-ever International Maritime Review (IMR) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Singapore Navy, on May 11 and 12, the Vietnam People’s Navy Frigate 011 – Dinh Tien Hoang participated in the 6th Western Pacific Navy Symposium Multilateral Sea Exercise (WMSX-6).
Naval Captain Le Hong Chien (left), Deputy Commander of the VPN’s Naval Region 4, Head of the Mission, commanding Frigate 011 during the exercise. Accordingly, 20 countries’ 30 naval ships, divided into three divisions, teamed up in the exercise offshore Singapore. Frigate 011 joined Division 2 together with ships from Canada, France, Japan, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and the U.S.
Japanese helicopter carrier 183 (left), Izumo class, commanding Division 2. During the exercise, the division was divided into two tactical groups. Frigate 011 was in Tactical Group 2, which was commanded by the RSN Stalwart of Singapore.
Vietnamese naval officers discussing communication situations. Apart from maneuvering in the formation, the participating ships also conducted signal exercises such as coding and deciphering, flag hoist, and flash to further familiarize with the Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea, which was adopted by members of the Western Pacific Navy Symposium in 2014.
Monitoring. Recently, the VPN has participated in many multilateral exercises such as Komodo in Indonesia in 2014 and 2016, Maritime Security and Anti-terrorism Exercise within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Minister Meeting Plus in Singapore in 2016. Those activities help consolidate trust among navies and strengthen the capacity of the VPN.
A soldier of Frigate 011 hoisting a signal flag. International naval signals were used in the exercise.
On the radar screen, the participating ships are breaking the screen formation. During the 27-hour exercise, the ships continuously maneuvered into the formation, and divided into divisions or tactical groups.
Japanese Navy Helicopter Carrier 183 and Destroyer Sazanami 113 in the formation. Countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia sent two vessels to the exercise.
Frigate 421, Naresuan class, of the Royal Thai Navy…
and the Republic of Korea Navy DDG 997 Dae Jeong in the formation.
A Ka-28 helicopter on board Frigate 011. In May 12 afternoon, Frigate 011 arrived at its anchorage position in Changi Military Port. Her crew members will participate in various activities such as the IMR, International Maritime Defense Exhibition Asia 2017, and Maritime Information Sharing Exercise 2017 from May 13 to 18.
Reported by Ngoc Hung from Singapore