Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2025 (IPE25) is drawing to a close after almost 70 activities across 13 nations, working with partners to confront some of the biggest challenges facing all who call this region home.

Conducted since 2017, IPE is coordinated by the Australian Defence Force’s Joint Operations Command to strengthen Australia’s engagement and partnerships with regional security forces.

Commander IPE25 Brigadier Jennifer Harris said IPE had always been much more than just a military exercise.

“At its very core, IPE is about people-to-people connections,” Brigadier Harris said.

“We have engaged with partners from Sri Lanka and Maldives up in the north-east Indian Ocean all the way south to Timor-Leste in the Timor Sea.”

Australian teams, under the banner of IPE, also engaged with colleagues in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.  

“IPE has been an incredible opportunity to pragmatically exercise strategic empathy and really focus on understanding how our partners view the world,” Brigadier Harris said.

“Our partners welcomed us warmly and have been willing to engage in rich conversations around shared challenges.

“Importantly we have continued to explore how we can work together to ensure our region is one where we can all can thrive.”

'We look forward to working together, reinforcing our relationships, forging new friendships, and ultimately making sure this region continues to be safe, prosperous and secure.'

Brigadier Harris said she was struck by the sheer complexity of the relationships Australian teams located in partner countries navigate every day.

“I think Australia is uniquely positioned with positive relationships with all 13 of our IPE partner countries, but each one is different, and unique in their own way,” she said.

“It has been a privilege to see our people engaging in the region in a way that is uniquely Australian with a genuine desire for mutual understanding and an openness and willingness to confront potential challenges together and find a way forward – it has been inspiring.

“We have explored issues from energy transition and climate change all the way through to how we work together to ensure our people supporting peacekeeping operations globally are well prepared.

“This year, during the 25th anniversary year of the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security there was also an emphasis on our progress on implementing this important agenda.

“Sharing knowledge around maritime security was also a high priority for our partners, especially in relation to undersea infrastructure and regional law enforcement.

“I am so inspired by what our Defence and Australian representative teams and hosts are achieving on the ground, the work they do to cultivate positive relationships.

“IPE is uniquely positioned to support this effort, integrating in a really meaningful, nuanced and tailored way."

Brigadier Harris thanked all our partner nations for their incredible welcome and support. 

"It has been an outstanding year, and we look forward to working together, reinforcing our relationships, forging new friendships, and ultimately making sure this region continues to be safe, prosperous and secure,” she said.