BRP Ramon Alcaraz engages Japanese warship off the waters of Indonesia

Shortly before crossing the equator off the waters of Indonesia, the Philippine warship BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) engaged in a meeting procedure the Japanese warship JS Hatakaze (DDG-171)  as a passing exercise (PASSEX).

Like Alcaraz, Hatakaze is also en route to Australia to participate in KAKADU 2014, the largest international maritime exercise hosted biennially by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) which presents an opportunity to promote and enhance regional interoperability and multilateral cooperation among the participating navies.

KAKADU 2014 will formally commence on Aug. 25 and will run through Sept. 12, 2014.

While in PASSEX, the two ships conducted tactical maneuvers, visual, communication and publication exercises utilizing the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) developed and published by the Western Pacific Naval Symposium as a means to facilitate communication when naval ships or naval aircrafts encounter each other in an unplanned manner.

According to Capt. Ernesto O Baldovino, the Commanding officer of PF-16, the PASSEX did not only provide an opportunity to test the effectiveness of the CUES but also served as an avenue to enhance the ability and skills of the sailors and promote cooperation and interoperability between the two ships.

After the successful PASSEX, the two ships proceeded in convoy to Darwin, Australia for the opening ceremony of exercise KAKADU 2014, where, aside from Australia, Japan and the Philippines, navy ships and aircrafts from New Zealand and Pakistan navies will be participating while Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vanuatu, South Korea and India are sending personnel as observers, bringing to 12 the number countries participating in the exercises.

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