Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Yudo Margono, has received the Meritorious Service Medal (military) from the Singapore government in recognition of his services to enhancing relations and cooperation between the navies of the two countries.
Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen conferred the medal on Margono at the Singapore Naval Headquarters on Friday in the presence of his wife Vero Yudo Margono, the Indonesian Navy’s (TNI AL) Information Service informed in a press statement released on Saturday.
The navy chief’s intelligence assistant, Rear Admiral Angkasa Dipua, and his operations assistant, Rear Admiral Dadi Hartanto, also attended the conferment ceremony.
Margono is considered to have played a role in fostering relations between the two navies since he was appointed the chief of naval staff in May 2020.
During his term, he got involved in the agenda of activities, including dialogues between the two navies, support for the continuation of professional interaction in the sea, and more importantly, the commemoration of the 26th anniversary of the exercise code-named Elang Indopura, which Singapore takes pride in, in September 2021.
The exercise involved four warships and two maritime patrol planes.
Margono also successfully organized sea-borne exercises between the two navies four times. The success of the exercises made it possible for the two navies to forge a mutually beneficial friendship and increase interoperability.
The Singapore government said it believes that Margono has personally committed to strengthening bilateral cooperation in maritime security by providing support for patrols in the Malacca Strait, assigning an Indonesian liaison officer to the joint information center, and pushing for the development of strong operational relations between the Singapore Navy Maritime Security Command and the Indonesian Navy Fleet Command.
The Singapore government further said it believes that under the leadership of Margono, the two navies are ready to continue coordinated patrol in the Singapore Strait.
“The success of the joint maritime security operation between maritime stakeholders in January 2022 also proves that the two navies have strong relations,” the TNI AL Information Service said.
Source: Antara News