Australia has joined partners from the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FDPA) in support of the only multilateral security arrangement of its kind in Southeast Asia with the launch of Exercise Bersama Lima 2025.
ADF Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones, AO, CSC, said Australia remained committed to the FPDA and regional security.
“The FPDA remains an indispensable anchor for regional security," Vice Admiral Jones stated. “For over 50 years, Australia has conducted warfighting exercises with our partners from the FDPA."
Over the next fortnight, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom, will exercise sea, air and ground forces in high-end warfighting serials focused on the defence of Malaysia and Singapore.
“Exercise Bersama Lima is an example of the FPDA working together to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous region," Vice Admiral Jones commented. “The 2024 National Defence Strategy reaffirms our ongoing investment in the FPDA and its importance for regional security.”
Around 400 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, F-35A Lightning II aircraft and Anzac Class frigate HMAS Ballarat will train alongside FDPA partners, including a Carrier Strike Group from the United Kingdom
Bersama Lima 2025 will also feature humanitarian and disaster relief scenarios as well as sport and engagement activities designed to strengthen people-to-people links and enhance interoperability.
The FDPA were signed by Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom in 1971 and is Australia’s longest-standing regional security mechanism, according to Defence.
The last Exercise Bersama Lima occurred on 4th October 2023, in Malaysia, and went for two weeks. It involved 400 ADF personnel, F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft and C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft; Hobart class guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane; and a company of infantry soldiers from the Australian Army.