BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE acting commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) met with the commander of the British Armed Forces 11th Infantry Brigade on Tuesday at the Bolkiah Garrison.

First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Aziz Hj Mohd Tamit received a courtesy call from Brigadier Andrew Hughes, who was on a short working visit to Brunei.

They discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation through professional military exchanges and initiatives.

The acting RBAF commander also congratulated Brigadier Hughes on the 200th anniversary of Gurkha service to the British Crown and the celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday.

Brunei and the United Kingdom share a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship framed by the 1979 Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation, which formally underpins the security ties between the two countries.

Both countries have also signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on defence and military cooperation.

In February, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, renewed the Garrison Agreement to maintain the British Forces Brunei (BFB) in Seria for another five years.

Based on a Gurkha infantry battalion rotating between the First Battalion and Second Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, the BFB is made up of about 2,400 personnel including dependants. It also includes Training Team Brunei, which runs jungle warfare courses, and Seven Flight Army Air Corps equipped with three Bell 212 helicopters. BFB personnel regularly train and exercise with RBAF, most recently talking part in the ‘Semangat Waja’ Exercise. They also provide support to the local community and recently assisted the Belait District Disaster Management Centre in firefighting.

A total of 30 British Loan Service personnel comprising officers and senior non-commissioned officers are currently serving with the RBAF.

Bruneian military personnel attend training courses in the UK, while their British counterparts also partake in various courses in the sultanate.

Among the training courses in Brunei attended by British military personnel include the RBAF Defence Academy Command and Staff Course.

The Brunei Times