ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise

The ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise is a regular naval exercise held by the navies of the Association of [Southeast Asian Nations]. It aims to build trust, improve skills, and make it easier for ASEAN navies to work together at sea. AMNEX focuses on non-combat areas like maritime safety, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and protection of the marine environment.

History

AMNEX was first proposed by the Royal Thai Navy and agreed at the 8th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting in 2014. The first AMNEX was hosted by Thailand in November 2017 around Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand with the theme “Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment.” The second AMNEX took place in the Philippines on 12–15 May 2023, based in Subic, with both shore and sea phases and an ASEAN Fleet Review. The third AMNEX was hosted by Malaysia on 16–22 August 2025 in Penang, alongside the 19th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting, an ASEAN Navies’ City Parade, and an ASEAN Fleet Review.

AMNEX builds simple, common procedures among ASEAN navies. Typical activities include:

The table below lists all editions.

Edition	Year	Host country	Dates	Main location / areas	Selected activities and notes
1st	2017	Thailand	13–22 November 2017	Pattaya; Gulf of Thailand	Theme: “Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment”; at-port and at-sea phases; maritime interception, logistics at sea, airborne supply, and marine environmental protection drills.
2nd	2023	Philippines	12–15 May 2023	Subic Bay and waters off Subic	Shore phase and opening at Naval Operating Base Subic; sea phase with SAR, maneuvering, and comms drills; ASEAN Fleet Review.
3rd	2025	Malaysia	16–22 August 2025	Penang; adjacent waters	With 19th ANCM, ASEAN Navies’ City Parade, and ASEAN Fleet Review; participation of ~10 ships and >1,200 personnel ; RSN RSS Vigour among participants.