Present at the ceremony were Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah, Commander of the RBAF; Captain (Rtd) Dato Paduka Abdul Rahman bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence; and Arko Hananto Budiadi, Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Brunei Darussalam.

General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Gatot Nurmantyo was conferred the title ‘The Most Exalted Order of Paduka Keberanian Laila Terbilang, First Class (DPKT)’ in October 2015 in recognition of his contributions in fostering excellent defence ties between the RBAF and TNI.

Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Indonesia have enjoyed close and long-standing defence relations since signing the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation on April 10, 2003.

The bilateral cooperation encompasses exchange visits, professional exchanges, trainings, courses and exercises. In November 2017, the RBN and the Indonesian Navy held a joint exercise codenamed ‘Exercises Helang Laut 18B/17’ in the Indonesian waters.