Canada open to do more maritime activities with PH

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

GOODWILL VISIT. HMCS Montreal personnel work on the deck after the frigate docked at the Manila South Harbor on Friday (Aug. 2, 2024) for a five-day goodwill visit. The same vessel participated in the past MCA between the Philippines, Canada, Japan, and the US. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – The Canadian government is interested to participate in more maritime cooperative activity (MCA) with the Philippines in the South China Sea, Canada’s Defense Attaché said Friday.

Aboard the HMCS Montreal that is currently docked in Manila, Lt. Col. Jason King said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. had sent a letter “soliciting” the Royal Canadian Navy for future MCAs.

King said he recently received a letter from Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) Commander Lt. Gen. Steve Boivin, answering affirmative to Brawner’s request.

“I just got the letter from our commander of CJOC, saying that we are very interested in doing more MCA opportunities with the Philippines Navy in the future and our allied partners,” King said. “So, we are very much game to do more.”

Meanwhile, neither King nor Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman confirmed whether the HMCS Montreal would be conducting an MCA during its visit or deployment in the Asia Pacific.

The HMCS Montreal is in the Philippines for a goodwill visit from Aug. 2 to 6.

Last June, the warship joined an MCA in the West Philippine Sea with the AFP, US Navy, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The previous MCA involved a series of activities and maritime maneuvers to test and validate the interoperability of the armed forces’ doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures.