Australian Navy visits Cebu for naval exercise
two Australian Royal class patrol boats dock at the Naval Forces Central port (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).
TWO patrol boats of the Royal Australian Navy arrived at the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen) port in Barangay Lo-oc, Lapu-Lapu City on Thursday as part of Exercise Lumbas 2016.
The two Armidale-class patrol boats, HMAS Glenelg (ACPB 96) and HMAS Larrakia (ACPB 84) will be in Cebu until October 21 for the naval exercise.
The patrol boats will be used as floating assets for different trainings, which the two navy groups will jointly undertake.
The annual exercise between the Philippine Navy and Royal Australian Navy that started in 1998 in the Philippines. It aims to strengthen relationship, inter-operability and enhance mutual cooperation between the two countries.
Training activities include Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, Table Top Exercise, Field Training Exercise (Force Integration and Maritime Security Operations), ceremonial and sports activities.
Lt. Bennet Christian Nuevarez, spokesperson of Navforcen, said the exercise will benefit them because of the more advanced training of their foreign counterpart.
Nuevarez said that other government agencies such as the Maritime Police, Bureau of Customs and Philippine Coast Guard, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Council and Cebu Port Authority whose functions involved in the maritime operations to deter human trafficking, entry of illegal drugs and some contrabands, will also participate.
One of the highlights of this year’s exercise is the visit, board and seizure exercise which was conducted yesterday in the seawaters of Camotes Island.
Captain Antonio Palces, the deputy commander of Navforcen, is the exercise director of this year’s Exercise Lumbas, with Commander John Brown as his Australian counterpart. Exercise Lumbas 2016 will be conducted at Navforcen’s jurisdiction.
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