Maritime partnerships strengthened

The Royal Australian Navy this month joined key partners Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom for the Maritime Partnership Exercise in the Indian Ocean.

CAPTION: Ships and aircraft from the navies of Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States participate in training in the Indian Ocean during the Maritime Partnership Exercise. Photo by Leading Seaman Ernesto Sanchez.

Anzac-class frigate HMAS Ballarat took part in the complex multi-domain training, held in the Bay of Bengal from October 15-18, with ships and aircraft from the participating nations.

Commander of the Australian Fleet Rear Admiral Mark Hammond said the Maritime Partnership Exercise reinforced effective habits of cooperation between participating forces.

“The Maritime Partnership Exercise demonstrated our capacity to work together to support the security and resilience of the Indo-Pacific,” Rear Admiral Hammond said.

“The Royal Australian Navy has benefited from multiple engagements with regional navies this year, sharing in the knowledge and experience of our partners, and enhancing our interoperability in the maritime domain.

“Close cooperation with key partners made the Maritime Partnership Exercise all the more valuable, and I thank our fellow navies for this opportunity to work together.

“Notably, this exercise included the UK’s Carrier Strike Group for its Indo-Pacific deployment.

“We are pleased to see our European partners strengthening their engagement in the region and supporting our shared interest in safeguarding the rules-based international order.”

HMAS Ballarat is home-ported at Fleet Base West in Western Australia and has spent significant time deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific working with regional partners.

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