KOTA KINABALU, Oct 21 — The government is identifying suitable land for the establishment of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) Naval Region 4 (MAWILLA 4) headquarters in Bintulu, Sarawak to strengthen security and operations in East Malaysia.

Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany said Bintulu was chosen because of its strategic location in terms of position and the centralisation of maritime operations in the South China Sea.

"Once the land has been identified we will work with the Sarawak government for the land ownership process.

"RMN plans to station appropriate ships and aircraft in MAWILLA 4 to further improve the surveillance and security of the waters of the South China Sea,” he told reporters after closing the RMN Mega Exercise (Ex Kerismas) here today.

On Ex Kerismas, he said the 21-day exercise was from October 3 until this Sunday at the Kota Kinabalu Naval Base and in the South China Sea.

"This largest intra-exercise is successful and achieving the targeted objectives.

"Ex Kerismas is the most important annual exercise for the RMN to test the level of readiness and capability of the RMN fleet in carrying out high-intensity maritime operations,” he added.

Some 2,073 RMN personnel, 23 ships, a submarine, a submarine rescue ship, four helicopters, two Unmanned Aircraft System as well as support elements from the Naval Special Warfare Forces (Paskal) and seven Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft are involved in the exercise. — Bernama