The Indo Pacific Endeavour 2022 (IPE 02/2022) is Australia’s annual defence-led international engagement aiming to strengthen Australia’s commitment and partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) vessel, Frigate HMAS ANZAC entered Brunei Darussalam’s waters on November 15 and continued its journey to Indonesia on November 17. Seven countries in the Asia-Pacific region have been and will be visited by the task group.
The opening ceremony of IPE 02/2022 between the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) on November 14 was co-chaired by Acting Deputy Joint Force Commander of Joint Force Headquarters (Act DJFC, JFHQ) RBAF Lieutenant Colonel Aldi bin Haji Hassan and Commander of Landing Force of the Australian Amphibious Task Group ADF Colonel Douglas Pashley.
A joint bilateral coastal hook landing demonstration was held on November 16 aimed to display Australia’s amphibious capabilities and develop interoperability between the two forces. The demonstration was attended by senior officers from the RBAF and ADF, including Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Luke Arnold; Air Vice-Marshal Stephen Meredith AM, DSM; Commander of IPE 02/2022 Deputy Chief of Air Force of ADF Commodore Mal Wise; and Joint Force Commander (JFC) of the RBAF Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Alirupendi bin Haji Perudin.
During the closing ceremony on November 18, closing remarks were delivered by Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Alirupendi and Commodore Wise where both emphasised the importance of IPE 02/2022 in improving the long-established bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed their satisfaction over the success of the IPE 02/2022. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were conducted virtually at the JFHQ’s briefing room.
During IPE 02/2022, a diverse range of at-sea, air and ashore exercise were planned including various subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) programmes such as the maritime security workshop, women peace and security, religious interaction and aircraft P-8A information exchange.
