Australian Navy Ships Receive Official Welcome on Goodwill Visit to Makassar

Commanders and crew of the Royal Australian Navy warships HMAS Success and HMAS Arunta were officially welcomed at the Hatta Container Pier in Makassar today, underlining strong and important Navy cooperation between Australia and Indonesia.

The ships arrived with more than 400 crew for a three day visit (24 – 27 September 2010) to Indonesia before travelling on to other Southeast Asian nations. During the visit the crew will participate in social and professional activities with the Indonesian Navy, further strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

The commanding officer of Success, Commander Anthony Rayner, welcomed the opportunity to visit Indonesia and said, “The Royal Australian Navy and the Indonesian Navy have forged close personal and professional links over many years. The relationship is based on mutual trust and respect, and we engage in regular dialogue, strategic level talks, and operational cooperation and training.”

“Working with the Indonesian Navy is always professionally satisfying, but we also enjoy visiting Indonesia and experiencing the natural beauty and cultural diversity of the archipelago,” he added.

Success is an underway replenishment ship designed to supply fuel and cargo to other warships while Arunta is an Anzac Class frigate. The two ships are part of a larger Australian four ship task group which will see HMAS Tobruk and HMAS Toowoomba visit Surabaya from 25 – 28 September.

The Australian Defence Attaché, Brigadier Gary Hogan, said cooperation in maritime security was a key element of the Agreement between Indonesia and Australia on the Framework for Security Cooperation (Lombok Treaty). Regular ship visits and exercises strengthened the relationship, and enabled the two Navies to operate together effectively.

“In April this year we conducted the first Indonesia-Australia coordinated maritime security patrol. This is a clear demonstration of the maturity of our Defence relationship, and the commitment to work together to ensure our mutual security,” Brigadier Hogan said.

As part of the ships’ visit to Makassar, students and teachers from a number of local BRIDGE schools will also have an opportunity to visit the ships and meet the commanders and crew. BRIDGE is an Australian Government student and teacher exchange program which has seen 91 teachers from 47 Indonesian schools in 7 provinces visit Australia as a way of forging ongoing relationships between schools in both countries.

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