Natuna, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has conducted a preparatory workshop ahead of the joint search and rescue (SAR) exercise between Indonesia and Singapore (Indopura) in December 2022.
"Today, we conduct the ‘2022 Indopura SAR Pre-Workshop.’ (The joint exercise) with Singapore is called Indopura SAR exercise, which we will carry out in December in Natuna," Basarnas’ director for preparedness, Agus Haryono, informed here on Tuesday.
Basarnas will carry out a routine joint SAR exercise program, not only domestically, but also internationally, he said at the Natuna Ranai Search and Rescue Office, Natuna, Riau Islands.
He further informed that the briefing and preparatory training for the Indopura SAR exercise were aimed at ensuring the smooth implementation of the actual exercise. "So far, the Natuna SAR Office is ready to carry out exercises and operational duties such as personnel readiness and the main tools," he said.
The Natuna SAR Office was chosen as the host of the joint exercise considering the strategic location of the Natuna area and the Flight Information Region (FIR) area, which was previously controlled by Singapore, he added.
Haryono said he expected all pre-training participants of the workshop to take part in the activity seriously and professionally. "Although this is just a workshop and still indoor, we hope that the participants can carry out the exercise seriously, professionally, and enthusiastically in order to provide the best SAR service," he added.
In 2020, the 38th Indonesia-Singapore joint SAR exercise was held in Pangkalpinang on October 13–15. The exercise, joined by 150 personnel from Basarnas and Singapore Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), aimed to improve the quality of handling of ship and aircraft accidents and disasters at sea.
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The training covered the procedures for international SAR operation, procedures for handling aircraft accidents, communication, and coordination.