Royal Australian Navy ships Adelaide and Darwin have welcomed senior Philippine government and military officials during their visit to the country as part of their Indo-Pacific deployment.
On October 11, landing helicopter dock HMAS Adelaide welcomed aboard a delegation led by Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and the secretary for national defense Delfin Lorenzana.
Addressing the members of the Australian defense force following a tour of HMAS Adelaide, Rodrigo Duterte joked that Australia could park the landing helicopter dock in Manila after it is decommissioned.
Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin was in Manila on October 9 and 10 and met with the secretary for national defense, where they discussed Australian support to the Philippines’ fight against Daesh-affiliated terrorism in the southern Philippines. He also met with his counterpart, General Eduardo Año to discuss practical opportunities for the Australian defense force to further its support to the Philippines armed forces.
In June 2017, Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft commenced surveillance flights over the southern Philippines to collect information that is assisting the Philippines armed forces in its fight against Daesh-affiliated terrorism in Marawi.
The Australian ships are in Manila as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017, a joint task group deployment to the region focussed on international engagement.
In addition to the Philippines, the visit program includes Brunei, Cambodia, the Federated States of Micronesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.