Friday, August 15, 2014

180 Filipino naval personnel to participate in Australian Navy's 'Kakadu 2014'

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 15): 180 Filipino naval personnel to participate in Australian Navy's 'Kakadu 2014'

Around 180 Filipino naval officers and enlisted personnel will be participating in "Kakadu 2014" -- the Royal Australian Navy's largest maritime exercise which will take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 12.

These personnel are those aboard the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) and its embarked AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopter (PNH-431), medical team and the exercise directorate members.

Ensign John Windy Abing, Philippine Navy (PN) public affairs office chief for "Kakadu 2014," said the send-off ceremony for BRP Ramon Alcaraz and her crew will be on Sunday at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales

"Kakadu 2014" is the largest international maritime exercise hosted biennially by RAN and represents an opportunity to promote and enhance regional interoperability and cooperation among the participating navies.

Abing said that this year's exercise will be participated in by 12 countries.

The participating countries with navy ships/aircraft are Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Pakistan and Australia while Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vanuatu, South Korea, and India will be sending personnel as observers.

This is the second time the PN is sending its ship to participate since the exercise began in 1993.

Abing said the first time that the PN sent a ship was in 1999.

PN observers were also sent in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

The PN’s participation is expected to enhance its surface warfare capabilities and interoperability with regional navies.

It will also be an opportunity for the PN to enhance cooperation, camaraderie, and good working relationship with the participating navies.

It can be recalled that in March 2014, Alcaraz’s sister ship, BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-16), was also sent to Indonesia to participate for the first time in the multilateral naval exercise codenamed “Komodo” which was participated in by 16 countries.

The PN’s participation in multilateral exercises can be attributed to its commitment in collaborating with other navies to promote peace and stability in the maritime region.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=673369

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