The United States and Malaysia resumed an annual maritime exercise that was canceled last year due to the pandemic, with eight days of training divided into at-sea and virtual phases, the navy said on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2021) The United States and Malaysia resumed an annual maritime exercise that was canceled last year due to the pandemic, with eight days of training divided into at-sea and virtual phases, the navy said on Tuesday.
"The eight-day engagement focuses on the full spectrum of naval capabilities and features cooperative evolutions that highlight the ability of the U.S. and Malaysia to work together toward the common goal of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific," the US navy said in a press release.
The at-sea phase in the Strait of Malacca will include Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa, an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and a P-8A Poseidon aircraft, the release said.
Ships from both nations will practice complex maneuvers, surface warfare, dive and salvage training, replenishment-at-sea, a gunnery exercise, and exchanges between Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians, the release added.
Virtual events will feature information sharing, force protection, maritime domain awareness, and maritime law and law enforcement, according to the release.
The exercise resumes 27 years of maritime engagements between the US Navy and Royal Malaysian Navy following last year's cancellation due to COVID-19, the release noted.
