HMAS Sirius deploys to Southwest Pacific
The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Sirius has deployed to Fiji marking the beginning of a six-month programme of official activities throughout the region.
Along with Joint Task Force 637, Sirius will undertake a series of engagements across the Southwest Pacific and Timor-Leste, including visits to Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Samoa and the Micronesia region.
Key events include a Guardian-class patrol boat commissioning in Tonga, hydrographic survey activities, air transport support to Pacific Islands Forum delegates, and mutual training in Papua New Guinea.
The task force will also continue to support unexploded mines in the Solomon Islands, carry out a joint exercise in Vanuatu - Exercise Vanuatu Alliance; and support counter-illegal fishing operations across Micronesia.
The engagements are part of the Australian government’s Pacific Step-Up initiative.
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