US, Chinese Ships Arrive Jointly in Brunei

June 18, 2013

Ships from the United States of America, T-AKE 9 U5N5 USS Matthew Perry and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), PEACE ARK arrived on June 16 to partake in the ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief & Military Medicine Exercise that started the following day, June 17 and will last until 20 June 2013.

USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE-9) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy, named in honor of Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794–1858), who led the effort to open Japan to trade with the West. The 689-foot-long supply ship serves under the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The ship is capable of delivering almost 10,000 tons of dry cargo and petroleum products at one time to U.S. Navy and allied ships underway at sea.

This ship was one of several participating units in disaster relief after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. During the 21 days of operations, Matthew Perry completed 17 separate replenishment events, delivering more than 1.5 million gallons (5,700 m³) of fuel.

Both USNS Matthew Perry and PEACE ARK’s visit to Brunei Darussalam aims at contributing to the regional cooperation in non-traditional security, and also at promoting friendship among the ADMM-Plus nations. The PEACE ARK will be open to the public from 9-12 am on June 18th, which will include a guided tour.

[mappress]
Press Release, June 18, 2013; Image: Brunei MoD