The Indonesian Navy has invited participating countries of the Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) 2025 for final preparation of the Asia-Pacific joint naval exercise scheduled for February 2025.
The preparatory session, dubbed the Middle Planning Conference (MPC), was held at the Westin Hotel Nusa Dua in Bali on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.
Twenty-three friendly countries − Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Kenya, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the USA, Vietnam, Fiji, Saudi Arabia, and Canada − took part in the MPC in Bali, while Srilanka, New Zealand, Pakistan, Brazil, Cambodia, the UK and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the session online.
Assistant for Operations to the Navy Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Yayan Sofiyan, said the biennial MNEK, hosted by the Indonesian Navy, aims to improve cooperation and interoperability between navies from countries in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and maritime security operations.
This joint exercise serves as a platform for participating countries to share best practices, improve operational capabilities, and strengthen diplomatic relations.
In addition, to improve synergy in handling crisis situations, the Indonesian Navy will also involve relevant ministries, local governments, and maritime communities.
The MNEK 2025 will also be held in conjunction with the 6th International Maritime Security Symposium 2025 (6th IMSS 2025) and the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2025.
Admiral Yayan expressed hope that friendly countries involved in the multilateral exercise can become ambassadors for their countries, and that the exercise can be a source of pride for the ambassadors representing their countries.
Commander of the MNEK 2025 Task Force, Rear Admiral Amrin Rosihan Hendrotomo, said the 2025 exercise would carry the theme: “Maritime partnership for peace and stability” as the Komodo Joint Exercise is essentially a non-warfighting exercise.
“So the MNEK is not for combat, but for two specific goals, namely maritime security and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR),” Amrin said.
The Indonesian Navy will also involve the Indonesian Coast Guard (Bakamla) as coordinator of the coast guard community in the region. Bakamla’s participation is expected to add references for the implementation of non-warfighting exercises which are the main objective of the MNEK exercise, especially in the field of HA/DR.
