THE Australian Defence Force (ADF) will continue to build on the strong relationship it has with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF).
Yesterday, HMAS Canberra, one of the two largest ships ever constructed by the Royal Australian Navy, arrived in Suva on its second port call.
With about 800 personnel on board, the ship is here for some military exercises with their local counterparts.
HMAS Canberra first visited Fiji when it was deployed in March-April after Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston as part of Australia’s Operation FIJI ASSIST 2016.
Commanding officer Captain Christopher Smith said they were here to strengthen their defence ties and to rekindle the relationship forged from Severe TC Winston operation, not only on a professional level but also on a personal level.
“We are very happy to be back in Fiji to continue to build the strong relationship we had with the Fijian military whom we worked closely with during the cyclone period and also members of the Fijian Government who provided us great assistance and leadership when we arrived here supporting Winston,” Capt Smith said.
The ship has just returned from a month of Pacific operation off Hawaii Island, in the largest maritime exercise in the world.
Capt Smith said they were looking forward to the Lesson Learnt Symposium where they would dialogue with the Fijian Government and the Fiji military about the Severe TC Winston operation.
“We would talk about some of the lessons learnt from the operation that we did and some things were done very well and we learnt a lot from operating here and there are also some other areas where we can draw a lesson from and where we can continue to improve.”
He said there were other issues they needed to focus on.
“There are a number of issues we need to talk about and we are very focused in making sure that the vulnerable people and the women and children in the community are always the centre of all the operation that we do.”
The team will also take part in some sporting activities with local military personnel before returning to Australia tomorrow.
