KOTA KINABALU – The Royal Malaysian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Navy’s exercise over the South China Sea, dubbed the Angkasa-Samudra Exercise (Angsa), concluded today after 20 days of simulated missions and military interoperability evaluations carried out within the territorial waters of Sabah and Sarawak.
Malaysian Navy chief Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Ayob told reporters that the 14th edition of the Angsa field training exercise, which started on July 28, had finished satisfactorily with all the simulated exercises carried out according to plan.
“The exercise has gone smoothly despite some of the assets being over 40 years old. This shows the level of professionalism among our men and women,” he said during the closing ceremony of the Angsa field training exercise held at the Sepanggar naval base here.
Also present was air force chief Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Goriman Khan.
The Angsa exercise is the largest annual joint exercise between the navy and air force. This edition saw a total of 2,566 military personnel take part.
They included 1,772 naval officers, 713 airmen, and 77 Malaysian Armed Forces personnel.
The navy also deployed some 20 navy vessels, a submarine, four navy helicopters, and two drones, while the air force deployed 12 fighter jets, four aircraft carriers, an air-to-air refuelling aircraft, a maritime surveillance aircraft, and three helicopters.
Rahman said Malaysia’s continued military presence in the South China Sea is to ensure Malaysian sovereignty remains intact, adding that an exercise of this scale can only be done in the same region.
“The South China Sea does not involve the territorial waters of Sabah and Sarawak alone. It also involves the territorial waters of Peninsular Malaysia.
“But for this exercise, the primary focus was East Malaysia,” he said. – The Vibes, August 16, 2023
