LUMUT, Malaysia –
U.S. Navy Sailors and U.S. Marine Corps Marines joined the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) for an opening ceremony in Lumut, commencing the 31st year of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia, Dec. 4. Over the next week, service members will convene for subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs), sea-phase activities, and relationship-building activities such as community relations events (COMRELs) and a sports day. “It is such a privilege for us to be here again, celebrating 31 years of the CARAT exercise series with our Malaysian partners,” said Capt. Matt Cox, deputy commodore, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 and U.S. Navy head of delegation. “This exercise, which highlights the longstanding role that partnerships play in our ability to defend a free and open Indo-Pacific, acts as a venue for us to jointly address shared maritime security challenges.”
Following the opening ceremony, the exercise will see SMEEs in topics including cyber, legal, maritime domain awareness, medical, diving and salvage, explosive ordnance disposal, and music. Representatives from Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA) will conduct a staff exercise to simulate staff integration from all participating units.
Sailors assigned to Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20) will participate in a COMREL at the Nur Hidayah Orphanage Home to foster positive people-to-people connections with local communities. The end of the exercise will culminate with an at-sea series of events, where Cincinnati will join RMN’s Lekiu-class frigate KD Lekiu (FFG 30) in the Strait of Malacca. The sea-phase serials are designed to strengthen the partnership through the development of interoperable capabilities, combined operations, theater security cooperation, and capacity-building efforts. CARAT Malaysia is designed to promote regional security cooperation, strengthen partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability. This year marks the 31st iteration of CARAT, a multinational exercise series designed to enhance U.S. and partner navies' abilities to operate together in response to shared maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. CARAT Malaysia follows Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) 2025, where the Royal Malaysia Navy and U.S. Navy worked alongside other Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and other partners to improve interoperability and enhance regional cooperation and stability.
As the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed DESRON in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of littoral combat ships rotationally deployed to Singapore; functions as CTF 76 Sea Combat Commander; and builds partnerships through training exercises and military-to-military engagements as the executing agent of Commander, Task Group CARAT.
U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.