MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy’s newest frigate, BRP Antonio Luna, held exercises with three Royal Australian Navy (RAN) vessels off Cabra Island in Occidental Mindoro. Her Majesty’s Australian Ships Canbera III, Anzac and Sirius arrived in Manila on Sunday evening for the Indo-Pacific Endeavor 2021 (IPE21), an annual engagement of the RAN with their counterparts in the region. BRP Antonio Luna conducted a series of exercises with the IPE21 task group off Cabra Island while the RAN ships were en route to Manila. Benjo Negranza, spokesperson for the Navy, said the RAN ships will be in Manila until the end of the week for the IPE21 engagement with the Philippine Navy. “IPE21 aims to strengthen Australia’s partnership with the region and across Southeast Asia by conducting a broad range of cooperative bilateral training and engagement events,” Negranza said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 27, 2021 20:26 UTC