The command teams of warships from six nations came together at HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin, for the first harbour briefings in support of Exercise Kakadu.

The attending members made up a combined task group of one Australian and five international major fleet units that are transiting in company from Darwin to Sydney Harbour for the upcoming Kakadu Fleet Review and follow-on maritime training.

Led by Royal Australian Navy landing ship dock HMAS Choules, the task group includes ships from partner nations India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. 

The harbour briefs involved discussions on the maritime integration training scenarios the group is undertaking as they navigate through Australian waters.

During the transit, the ships are conducting training serials to strengthen their collective readiness and interoperability.

Commander of the Australian Maritime Task Group, Captain Darin MacDonald, said the briefings were imperative to ensuring the safe and timely conduct of the transit.

“These Navy-to-Navy activities take significant planning and open lines of communications with the involved units are crucial before and during the transit,” Captain Darin MacDonald said. 

“Exercising with regional partner nations not only strengthens our ability to operate together at sea, but also builds trust, mutual understanding and interoperability between our forces.”

Exercise Kakadu is conducted biennially to strengthen maritime security cooperation with partner nations and build partnerships across the Indo-Pacific. 

This year marks the 17th iteration of the multinational maritime engagement exercise, in which Australia and 18 partner nations will have more than 6000 members participating.