1.         The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) will be taking part in Exercise KAKADU from 21 Jul to 8 Aug 08. The annual multilateral naval exercise is hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and aims to enhance interoperability among regional defence forces through conventional maritime training. 

2.         During the three-week exercise, RSN Missile Corvettes, RSS VIGOUR and RSS VENGEANCE, will be conducting naval manoeuvres off the coast of Darwin, Australia, together with warships from Australia, France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.  A Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force and aircraft from Australia, France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Thailand are also taking part in the exercise.  The participants will engage in various aspects of anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations.

3.         This year's exercise is the ninth in the KAKADU series which started in 1993. Besides the participating countries, representatives from Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam will also be observing the exercise.

                                                                                                                                        ###