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Over the past month, Japan and Australia have collaborated on a range of maritime training activities across the Indo-Pacific.
The intolerable drills centred around Exercise Nichi Gou Trident, a key bilateral maritime exercise between the Royal Australian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, now in its 17th year.
Anzac Class HMAS Toowoomba and JS Akizuki operated alongside each other in the South China region to conduct formation manoeuvres and navigation training aimed at enhancing coordination between the two fleets.
Surface Warfare Officer Lieutenant Max Pappin reflected on the engagement and emphasised the sense of connectivity that opportunities like these bring to both forces.
“It is comforting to know that while our crew and Akizuki are both training up here off the coast of Japan, we both have friends working together back home,” LEUT Pappin said.
“It helps us build our interoperability as a force. It allows us to be able to operate with many different nations, so if there is ever any incident, operation or emergency, we will always be ready to work together as one united fleet.”
Commanding Office Akizuki Commander Kiichiro Toyama noted how this exercise is a critical opportunity for new naval officers to experience what it is like to work with advanced naval forces from around the world.
“We both have young officers on board who need the training and skill in navigation. So this exercise is a great opportunity for our young officers to work together to improve their skills,” Commander Toyama said.
“We need to increase our opportunities to work with the Royal Australian Navy in different tactical environments, as it is the only way to increase the reliability we have of working together in any situation.”
