PH Navy to join other countries in Rim of Pacific exercise
By Francis Wakefield
Philippine Navy officials visited the contingent of the Naval Task Force RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) aboard BRP Davao Del Sur (LD602) on Wednesday.
At least 570 Philippine Navy men with two Navy vessels, BRP Davao del Sur (LD602) and BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF17), for the first time, Philippine Navy will take part in the largest Maritime Exercises the Rim of the Pacific 2018 as they held a send-off ceremony to Hawaii, USA June 6, 2018, in the Malacanang Sugbo. (Juan Carlo de Vela/MANILA BULLETIN)
Philippine Navy Vice Commander Rear Admiral Gaudencio C. Collado Jr., Philippine Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Danilo R. Rodelas, and Naval Forces Central Commander Commodore Loumer P. Bernabe, were present during the visit.
The Naval Task Force RIMPAC presented the Pre-Sail Briefing to Collado along with the HPN Staff and the crew of KD Lekiu from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).
The Group Sail hosted by the Philippine Navy involves warships from the Royal Malaysian Navy, Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, Republic of Korea Navy, Royal Australian Navy and the New Zealand Navy.
The maneuver is a strong display of these countries’ commitment to preserving peace, security, and upholding the rule of law in the maritime domain.
The contingent for the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise earlier left Manila to Cebu before its departure to Hawaii also on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.
The vigorous support from the government and its stakeholders through the modernization program, the Philippine Navy for the first time is sending a naval task force to participate in the world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC 2018 scheduled on June 27 to Aug. 2, 2018, in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
Two Navy vessels, BRP Davao Del Sur (LD602) and BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF17) with an embarked AW 109 naval helicopter, a naval special operations group team and one Marine Company will form part of the participating Naval Task Force (NTF) RIMPAC. This will be led by Captain Ernesto O. Baldovino as the Commander NTF RIMPAC.
The Commander, Fleet-Marine Ready Force, Commodore Toribio D. Adaci Jr. will spearhead the contingent as its head of the mission.
Navy chief Vice Admiral Robert A. Empedrad earlier inspected and conducted “talk to men” to boost the morale of the personnel and ensured the readiness of the contingent in its maiden participation at RIMPAC 2018.
The NTF will be further complemented by components from Civil Military Operations (CMO), Training, Medical, Legal, and students from different PN education and training schools
RIMPAC 2018 with its theme, “Capable, Adaptive, Partners” is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. This is the second International Defense and Security Engagement (IDSE) that the Philippine will participate in this year. The first IDSE is in Indonesia where the Philippine Navy participated in the Multi-national Exercise Komodo 2018.
A Royal Malaysian Navy Ship joined the Philippine NTF as it sails from Cebu and will link up with other navies (Indonesian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Royal Australian Navy) along the way for the ASEAN++ Group Sail to RIMPAC18.
Captain Lued L. Lincuna, the Director of the Naval Public Affairs Office, said the Philippine Navy’s participation in this undertaking is expected to advance its maritime operational capability to multilateral level.
“As a result, this will increase the readiness and interoperability, enabling the nation’s premier maritime force to be more effective and efficient in the conduct of its mandated task,” he said.