More than 2,100 military personnel from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom — member states of the long-standing Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) — gathered on the Malay Peninsula in September 2025 for air, land, sea and cyber drills.
The two-week Exercise Bersama Lima, which means “Together Five” in the Malay language, featured air-defense systems, 60 aircraft and 10 warships, including the U.K. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which is in the region as the flagship of the multinational mission Operation Highmast.
Bersama Lima “deepens our collective commitment to regional security in the spirit of camaraderie,” Malaysian Armed Forces chief Gen. Datuk Mohd Nizam Jaffar said at the opening ceremony at Joint Forces Headquarters, Kuantan, on Malaysia’s east coast. “It sharpens our ability to act as one and fosters a greater understanding of one another.”
The FPDA was established in 1971 as a nonbinding security accord centered on defending Malaysia and Singapore, both of which had gained independence in the preceding decade. It is Southeast Asia’s only multilateral defense arrangement. Bersama Lima is among several FPDA field-training and command-post exercises.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) deployed about 400 personnel, F-35A Lightning II fighter jets and the helicopter frigate HMAS Ballarat to Malaysia.
“The FPDA remains an indispensable anchor for regional security,” Vice Adm. Justin Jones, the ADF joint operations chief, said in a news release. “Exercise Bersama Lima is an example of the FPDA working together to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.”
The FPDA has adapted its exercises and priorities to meet the region’s evolving security landscape, military leaders say. In recent years, China’s rapid military buildup and aggressive posturing, particularly in the resource-rich South China Sea, have raised tensions.
Beijing arbitrarily claims much of the vital global trade route as its territory in defiance of an international tribunal’s 2016 ruling rejecting those claims. China deploys coast guard, navy and maritime militia ships to harass civilian and military vessels of other claimant states, including Malaysia and the Philippines. In mid-2024, for example, China demanded that Malaysia halt oil exploration at Luconia Shoals, within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Kuala Lumpur reiterated that it would continue oil and gas exploration in its waters.
More recently, China Coast Guard ships have rammed and fired water cannons at Philippine boats operating lawfully within Manila’s internationally recognized EEZ, injuring Philippine mariners and damaging vessels. FPDA members have condemned Beijing’s aggression and Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners are strengthening defense ties to counter such threats to the regional status quo.
Bersama Lima 2025 focused on joint and combined operations, and strategic coordination. Drills included cyber defense, anti-submarine warfare, and humanitarian aid and disaster response.
“Bersama Lima is about building trust and teamwork with our regional partners,” New Zealand Defence Force Lt. Col. Matthew Singleton said. “It’s a chance to strengthen relationships while sharpening the skills we need for future operations.”
