From riverboats to warships: ASEAN navies come together

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Thailand hosted an ASEAN International Fleet Review and exercise for the first time, involving forty naval ships, from countries across Southeast Asia on Monday in Pattaya Bay, Chonburi.

The event, also involving aircraft, is the first joint exercise of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Gulf of Thailand, which also marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.

This combined air and sea operations took place about 200 kilometers away from Thailand and is joined by 25 vessels from 18 other countries.

ASEAN International Fleet Review 2017. /CGTN Photo

Among the ASEAN members, warships from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Brunei took part. The remaining nation, Laos, has only riverboats, but it did send a contingent of senior officers.

Toxic dumping is a common problem in the region – but this time, it's an exercise to test the capabilities of a combined ASEAN force. Navy chiefs hope it may signal a new era of cooperation between the neighboring countries.

During the exercise, the sailors sped up to investigate a fishing boat suspected of illegally dumping poisonous waste at sea. The operation was watched over by men manning machine guns aboard a Thai frigate.

A new anthem "stronger together forever" has been written to commemorate the success of the joint exercise.

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