Two naval ships from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, JS Shimakaze and JS Suzunami made a port call at Muara Port yesterday.
Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam Maeda Toru as well as Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) personnel led by Assistant Chief of Staff Operations Commander Malek Fadillah, RBN welcomed the naval ships.
The two visiting naval ships, carrying around 450 Japanese naval personnel, including 93 cadets, will be in the country for three days.
The ships are under the command of Commander of Training Division 1 Captain Yanagihara Makoto.
Commanding Officer of JS Shimakaze, Commander Kanemaru Ryouhei and Commanding Officer of JS Suzunami, Commander Kinoshita Yutaka were also in attendance. The Japanese ambassador and RBN personnel were given a tour of the JS Shimakaze.
During their stay in Brunei, the cadets and crew of the ships will join RBN in a beach clean-up with participation by Deputy Chief of Mission of Japanese Embassy in Brunei Darussalam Suda Atsushi and Security Attache in Defence Cooperation at the Japanese Embassy in Brunei Darussalam Lieutenant Wata Toshifumi.
The visiting naval personnel will also join a cultural tour of the Sultanate.
This year marks the 40th year anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Brunei diplomatic relations.
To symbolise the deepening bilateral cooperation, the celebration is named ‘2024 Japan Brunei Friendship Year’.
The Japanese ambassador said, “It’s a friendly port of call and the visit demonstrates the good relationship between the two naval agencies and countries.
“The two countries enjoy good stable defence ties through peaceful engagement as well as a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on defence cooperation and exchanges between the Ministry of Defence of Brunei Darussalam and Japanese Ministry of Defense which was signed in February 2023.“
Members of the Japanese community residing in the Sultanate were also present. – James Kon
