Singapore's navy takes part in region drill

SINGAPORE - The Republic of Singapore Navy has now been taking part in the annual Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism exercise from Aug 27 to Sept 3, the city-state's Ministry of Defence said on Monday.

It's the 11th year of this exercise with participants of the United States Navy and navies from Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, aiming at enhancing maritime information-sharing and the coordination of maritime security responses in the region, the ministry said in a statement.

The participating navies will be conducting planning exercises at the Changi Command and Control Center at the Changi Naval Base.

Other drills include the tracking of ships, and the simulated boarding of a merchant vessel suspected of engaging in terrorist-related activities at sea, the ministry added.