HE Madam Halimah Yacob, the President of the Republic of Singapore, gave Admiral Sunil Lanba (Retd), the former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, the prestigious Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) [Meritorious Service Medal (Military)]. Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s Defense Minister, gave the award to Admiral Sunil Lanba (Retd) on behalf of the President at a solemn Investiture Ceremony on September 8, 2012 at Singapore’s Ministry of Defence.
The award is a sign that India and Singapore have strong defence ties with each other and that Adm Sunil Lanba has done a great job of bringing the two Navies closer together. In October 2018, the Indian Navy hosted the 25th Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) at Visakhapatnam. He was the Chief of Naval Staff at the time
Adm Sunil Lanba (Retd.) remembered with fondness having Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s Defense Minister, and Rear Adm Lue Chuan Hong, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Chief of Navy at the time, on board INS Shakti on the last day of the Sea Phase of the Exercise. During the sea phase, the Defence Minister of Singapore and other dignitaries saw for themselves how well the two navies worked together. Ships, aircraft, and submarines from both navies successfully carried out high-end operational manoeuvres, such as firing live missiles. Several important defence agreements were also signed between the two Navies while Adm Sunil Lanba was in charge.
These included the Bilateral Agreement on Navy Cooperation and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement. Adm Lanba also ran the first Goa Maritime Conclave in 2017. Singapore was one of the countries that took part.
During his time as Chief of Naval Staff, Adm Lanba went to the International Maritime Review (IMR), which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the International Maritime and Defense Expo (IMDEX), and the International Maritime Security Conference, which was co-hosted by the RSN and IMDEX-Asia in May 2017.
Adm. Sunil Lanba (Retd.) met with Lt. Gen. Melvyn Ong, Chief of Defense Force, Singapore Armed Forces, and Rear Adm. Aaron Beng, Chief of Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy, while he was in Singapore to get the Award. During these talks, Adm. Lanba praised Singapore’s leaders for keeping the momentum of bilateral talks going, and they talked about new ways to work together.
What Is Singapore’s Military Meritorious Service Medal?
- The Medal which is one level below The Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera) — (The Distinguished Service Order — Military), may be awarded to any member of the Singapore Armed Forces for exceptionally distinguished service or extraordinary merit in military command or staff work.
- In special circumstances, the Medal may be awarded to any person for his outstanding service in the promotion of good relations between the Singapore Armed Forces and the military force of his country.
- The Medal shall consist of a neck ribbon with a medal attached to it. The Medal shall be silver-based, 45 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres in thickness. On the obverse side, the Medal shall consist of seven white enamel gold rimmed limbs and a gold rimmed enamel green centre piece medallion on it. The gold rimmed enamel green centre medallion shall have a gold-plated tri-service design embedded in it. On the reverse side of the Medal, it shall have the inscription “PINGAT JASA GEMILANG (TENTERA)” on it.
- The Medal shall be worn as a neck decoration pendant. It may be worn with the working dress but in this case only the Medal ribbon is to be used.
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