2 Phl Navy ships in Hawaii for Pacific drill

After sailing more than two weeks, two Philippine Navy (PN) warships finally arrived in Hawaii yesterday for the scheduled launch of the world’s biggest joint naval drill in the Pacific.

Newly installed Navy spokesman Commander Jonathan Zata said landing dock ship BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) and BRP Andres Bonifacio with an Augusta Wastland helicopter are now docked at Pearl Harbor, all ready for today’s opening of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercises 2018.

“The PN’s participation in this undertaking is indeed an indication that the nation’s premier maritime force is ‘coming of age,’ consistent with its vision toward a strong and credible navy that our maritime nation can be proud of,” Zata said.

Bearing the theme “Capable, Adaptive Partners,” RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971 and is held biennially.

For the first time, the PN sent a Naval Task Force to participate in the world’s largest joint and combined naval exercise scheduled from today until Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian islands.

Zata said this is by far the largest international defense and security engagement that the Navy has taken part in.

Participating navies from around the globe will demonstrate the inherent capabilities of their respective naval forces through a range of realistic exercises that includes humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime security, sea maneuvers and complex war fighting.

“The exercises not only aim to harness other nation’s naval capabilities but also to bolster cooperation among participating nations to secure the maritime commons against threats,” he said.

As scheduled, 26 navies from around the world – Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam, deploying surface and subsurface naval assets, including land-based troops and equipment – are participating in the drills.