The Royal Australian Navy landing ship dock HMAS Choules has officially set sail from Subic Bay, the Philippines, to take part in Exercise Pacific Partnership.

Serving as the exercise's primary command and control platform, the ship is carrying a multinational contingent of more than 100 military personnel to various locations throughout the Indo-Pacific.

The contingent is made up of a US mission commander, health and medical professionals, culinary specialists and human security advisors from four partner nations: the United States, Australia, Canada and Germany.

Commanding Officer Choules Commander Paul Hardman believes the diversity of experience on board will further improve stages of the exercise.   

“It’s great to see so many subject matter experts from so many different backgrounds brought together in one place, sharing their diverse experiences and expertise,” Commander Hardman said.

“The decks are full with energetic conversations that can be heard throughout the ship, our people are exchanging ideas and truly getting to know each other, our equipment and the mission.”

The amphibious landing ship departed Subic Bay following a five-day port visit that began on July 6. 

During the visit, Choules hosted an official reception on board to further strengthen Australia’s relationship with the Philippines.   

The event was attended by Philippine Fleet personnel, including Philippine Fleet Deputy Commander Commodore Lorenzo H. Bolor Jr.

The departure of Choules signals the start of the exercise’s next operational phase, with the ship scheduled to make multiple port visits over the coming months.

This exercise is one of a number of deployments for Navy in the Indo-Pacific, with HMAS Sydney – one of Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers – currently on a regional presence deployment as well as participating in Exercise Rim of the Pacific in Hawaii.

Exercise Pacific Partnership is an annual, United States-led humanitarian assistance preparedness mission focused on an all-hazards approach with expanded lines of effort in medical and public health, engineering, and disaster management, conducted throughout the Indo-Pacific region.