A third Canadian vessel from the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has arrived in Manila to participate in a naval exercise with the Philippines and US counterparts as allied nations show joint forces in the Indo-Pacific.
RCN's His Majesty Canadian Ship (HMCS) Vancouver will be docked at the Port of Manila until Friday as her troops join Filipino and American counterparts in SAMASAMA—a bilateral exercise between Philippine and US navies that aims to further strengthen international defense cooperation and advance a rules-based international order.
"Vancouver's participation in SAMASAMA is to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability," Commander Meghan Coates, Vancouver's commanding officer, said in a press conference during the media tour of the ship on Saturday.
"We are honored by the opportunity to participate in this complex multilateral exercise, highlighting collaboration between like-minded partners, training in real world environments," Coates added.
Canada is bolstering its engagement with allies "to protect our natural interests and security," the commander said, noting that stability in the region "is essential to global stability."
Vancouver is the third RCN ship to visit the Philippines. On Sep. 14, HMCS Ottawa docked at the Subic Port and was followed by MV Asterix on Sep. 16.
It is Vancouver's second time in the country after its first visit last year.
She belongs to the Halifax-class frigate, a class known for an extensive anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare weapons as well as sensors that complement its substantial anti-air warfare defenses.
Vancouver was commissioned in 1993, according to the Canadian government website, and "continues to conduct operations in support of Canada's domestic and international policies."
"As a Pacific nation, Canada will continue to play an active role regionally and maintain our persistence presence to support peace, security, and our common interests," Coates said.
Stewart Taylor, Canada's non-resident defense attache to Manila, said the three Canadian vessels' trips to the country "are "a very concrete illustration of" Ottawa's commitment to the Philippines and to its regional partners "to help to uphold and maintain the rules based international order."
"So Canada has always been committed to the region, we've always been a had a significant point of presence here, throughout the Indo Pacific, in the territorial waters around the Philippines," he added.