US Navy conducts underway ops with Indonesian Navy in South China Sea

The US and Indonesian navies concluded three days of at-sea bilateral operations in the South China Sea from 12 to 14 April.

The operations included the US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen (DDG 92) and the Indonesian Navy’s corvette KRI Bung Tomo (FF 357). The navies focused on building interoperability and strengthening relationships.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our crew and our country to be able to work at sea alongside our partners and I am proud to be a part of it,” said Cmdr. Erik Roberts, commanding officer of Momsen.

“We’re committed to strengthening interoperability with like-minded regional partners to ensure our forces can operate together effectively.”

The US-Indonesia bilateral operations focused on division tactics, a passing exercise, and formation sailing, provided the US and Indonesian navies an opportunity to exercise together, increase interoperability and work together towards common maritime goals.

USS Momsen is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15. CTF 71/DESRON 15 is the navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the US 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

US Navy’s 7th Fleet is the largest forward-deployed fleet and routinely operates and interacts with 35 maritime nations while conducting missions to preserve and protect critical regional partnerships.