Indonesia leads more than 20 navies in multilateral exercise

The Indonesian Navy has formally opened Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK), in which more than 20 navies are participating.

MNEK, which emphasises multilateral maritime cooperation and disaster response protocols, will take place in conjunction with the International Maritime Security Symposium (IMSS), the largest international symposium organised by the Indonesian Navy.

The theme for this year’s MNEK is “Maritime Partnership for Peace and Stability.” The theme is designed to encourage multinational naval forces coordination to strengthen humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR), establish civil-military linkage, and enhance a mutual understanding and interoperability toward affected regions.

MNEK will include a six-day harbour phase to be followed by a sea phase. In the latter phase, participating ships and aircraft will conduct coordinated manoeuvring and search and rescue (SAR) training.

Komodo 2025 is the fifth iteration of the exercise, which was first held in 2014.

The US Navy has deployed the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (pictured) as well as a P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Commander, Task Force 72 to participate in the exercise.