Amphibious US Command Ship docks in Manila

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 4): Amphibious US Command Ship docks in Manila

USS Blue Ridge, the lead ship of the two Blue Ridge-class command ships of the United States Navy and command ship of the US Seventh Fleet, has docked at Manila Bay Friday for a routine visit, the US Embassy said.

Based on Yokosuka, Japan, the Blue Ridge’s primary role is to provide command, control, communication, computers, and intelligent support to commander and staff of US Seventh Fleet, the embassy said.

The Blue Ridge was commissioned on November 14, 1970 and is the third US Navy ship named after the Blue Ridge Mountains and the oldest deployable warship in the American Navy.

It has a crew of more than 2,200 personnel and has participated in such operations as Operation Eagle Pull (1975), Frequent Wind (1975), Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In 2011, the Blue Ridge was deployed to Japan to support its disaster relief operations following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

In the last four years, the US military has intensified the deployment of its fleets of aircraft, ship and submarines to Australia, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and other Asian countries as part of its ongoing efforts to reassert its presence and clout as an Asia Pacific power after years of preoccupation in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Philippines and the US have a 54-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty and a separate Visiting Forces Agreement that allows defense exercises between Filipino and American troops and port visits.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=863313