The annual bilateral navy-to-navy exercise between the Philippines and the United States began Monda in an opening ceremony graced by Flag Officer In Command Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. at the Philippine Navy headquarters.

Exercise Samasama 2023 will feature training and exercises at-shore and at-sea designed to improve the interoperability and cooperation between the two naval forces in the field of maritime security operations, maritime situational awareness, logistics, and command and control.

Around 700 sailors and marines from different Philippine Navy units will be participating in various events to be conducted in NCR and Naval Forces Southern Luzon until Oct. 13.

Participating assets during the sea phase will include BRP Antonio Luna , AW109 naval helicopter, C-90 aircraft, and a Naval Special Operations Unit.

For a second year in a row, the exercise will include other countries with the participation of navies from Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Australia in subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE) and events related to humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR).

The Royal New Zealand Navy and the Indonesian Navy are also joining as observers. Naval Public Affairs Office