French carrier strike group (CSG), composed of aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort, arrived in Subic Bay Friday as part of its Clemenceau 25 mission in the Indo-Pacific region, the French Embassy in Manila said Friday.
The CSG will take an operational break in the two locations starting Feb. 22, marking its first stopover in the country.
Before this, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) will conduct air interactions with the Navy Rafale of the embarked carrier air wing.
A destroyer of the CSG will also take part in a “bilateral interaction” with BRP José Rizal and BRP Gregorio Del Pilar in a still unidentified area.
Since Feb. 5, the CSG’s Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft have been positioned on Clark Air Base’s military airfield in support of the carrier strike group’s activities.
Crew members of the ATL2 detachments already had numerous exchanges with PAF officers, the embassy said.
The embassy said this visit signals the two states’ “willingness to work collectively for maritime security in the Indo-Pacific”.
"These interactions are clear demonstration of the willingness to work collectively for maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region where the two countries share economic interests and a need to protect their national citizens," it said.
"This cooperation is strengthened by regular joint trainings such as SAMA SAMA, CROIX DU SUD, MARARA and BALIKATAN," it added.
The Charles de Gaulle is accompanied by two multi-mission destroyers, an air defense destroyer and the auxiliary oil replenishment ship Jacques Chevallier.
The visit is also part of the framework of the letter of intent signed in December 2023 between France and the Philippines by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu.
The letter of intent aims to develop military cooperation and interactions between the armed forces of the two countries.
The Clemenceau 25 follows one of the many interactions France carried out with the Philippines in 2024, including the first French participation in the Balikatan exercises with the deployment of the frigate Vendémiaire, the port calls of French destroyer Bretagne in Manila in May and of the frigate Prairial in Cebu in October, as well as the first enhanced stopover of the PEGASE mission at Clark Air Base in 2024. (PNA)
0 comments:
Post a Comment