“Evolutionary” exercises were carried out between Royal Navy sailors and personnel from multiple Commonwealth nations.

Portsmouth-based patrol vessel HMS Spey represented the UK during Exercise Bersama Lima. This involved intensive drills in the air, at sea and on land over the space of 18 days.

She joined forces from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore - who have all been boosting regional security as part of the Five-Power Defence Arrangement for more than 50 years. Lieutenant Commander Kris White, Executive Officer of HMS Spey, said the crew of 50 personnel benefitted hugely from their participation in such a large international exercise.

Portsmouth ship HMS Spey was involved in an international exercise in the Indo-Pacific region with Malaysian, Australian, Singaporean and New Zealand forces. | Royal Navy

placeholder image — Portsmouth ship HMS Spey was involved in an international exercise in the Indo-Pacific region with Malaysian, Australian, Singaporean and New Zealand forces. | Royal Navy

“HMS Spey has a relatively young ship’s company and I know my warfare officers have made connections during Bersama Lima with their Australian, Malaysian, New Zealand and Singaporean counterparts which will last the rest of their military careers,” he said. “Bersama Lima has offered a chance for personal and professional relationships to form, develop and strengthen between operational planners and tactical operators across the five armed forces.”

Exercise Bersama Lima is considered the cornerstone of the defence arrangement. It is considered the main test of the military forces, tasking them with working together to complete common goals. Drills involved five ships, 38 aircraft - including the first international deployments of Australia’s F-35 fighter jets - four ground-based air defence systems, four diving teams and more than 2,000 personnel.

HMS Spey linked up with two Royal Malaysian Navy warships (frigate KD Lekiu and patrol ship KD Terengganu) and two Singaporean vessels, frigate RSS Formidable and OPV RSS Valour. They completed complex naval warfare scenarios including air defence, escort missions and naval gun firing. Specialist ‘spotters’ from 148 Battery Royal Artillery carried out the gunfire drills, as they often find themselves behind enemy lines to guide shells, bombs and missiles on target.

Lt Cdr White added: “Exercises like Bersama Lima provide invaluable opportunities to enhance our cooperation, interoperability, and trust with our regional partners. The evolutionary nature of these annual exercises allows us to address shared security challenges in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing security environment with unity, agility, and foresight.”

The Royal Gurkhas Regiment (1RGR), the Royal Navy’s Diving and Threat Exploitation Group’s Echo Squadron as well as personnel from all three Armed Forces completed UK participation in the 2024 exercise. The aerial part of the exercise was shared by the Australian F-35 (the RAAF operates the conventional land-based ‘A’ variant of the stealth fighter), Singaporean F-15 and F-16 fighters, and Malaysian F/A-18Ds.

Numerous numerous air defence scenarios were played out, supporting ground forces who were operating in jungle and urban environments. General Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohammad bin Ab Rahman, Chief of Defence Forces Malaysia, was delighted with the outcome of this year’s exercise. He said the participants in the exercise demonstrated their “readiness to respond as one”.

He added: “The security challenges we face will continue to shift and we must remain ever vigilant, agile and united to stay ahead of the curve. I am confident the friendships and professional ties we have forged here will continue to grow and evolve as we embark on future exercise to work towards our common goal of a peaceful and secure region.”