PH successfully caps joint sail with NZ, Japan, US, Australia

MANILA – The Philippines successfully concluded its one-day multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA) with the defense forces of New Zealand, Japan, the United States, and Australia in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Saturday said the sails were conducted within the vicinity of the WPS under the area of operations of the Northern Luzon Command.

This latest MMCA iteration, it said, introduced "enhanced exercises" to improve interoperability, with New Zealand's participation for the first time "adding a new dimension to the collaborative efforts."

"This underscores our shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a statement.

The activities included pre-sail briefings, communication exercises, cross-deck exercises, division tactics/officer of the watch drills, photographic exercises, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches, maritime domain awareness exercises, and contact reporting.

According to the AFP, the exercises were "all designed to refine operational readiness and collaborative capabilities."

The fourth MMCA involved the Philippine Navy's BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35), one AW109 helicopter, and Philippine Air Force Search and Rescue (SAR) assets, alongside the United States' USS Howard (DDG83) and two helicopters; Australia's HMAS Sydney (D48), a P-8 Poseidon aircraft, and one helicopter; Japan's JS Sazanami (DD113); and New Zealand's HMNZS Aotearoa (A-11).

The AFP said the MMCA showed its dedication to strengthening partnerships and enhancing collective capabilities with like-minded nations to address emerging maritime security challenges. (PNA)