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MCMEX successfully brought together the collective expertise of 14 regional navies. Indonesian Navy 2nd Lt. Didik Setiyawan is interviewed by the press during the first multinational mine countermeasure exercise ever held in the Asia-Pacific region.

Exercise goals, according to Col. Santa-Maria, were “to establish good relationships between the navies of the WPNS, to build and foster mutual cooperation with a view toward interoperability, and to explore opportunities for cooperation in the humanitarian mine countermeasure effort.”

These goals and more were achieved during the combined activities of the largest flotilla of regional naval vessels ever gathered for a combined exercise. As Minister Lim concluded, “This exercise has strengthened our region’s collective ability to deal with one of the most pressing concerns of our time – safety of navigation.”