Many navies make light work

By LEUT Marcus Middleton 3 min read

Ships sailing in the ocean.
HMAS Toowoomba conducts a maritime cooperative activity as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026 while the ship is in the South China Sea. Photo: LSIS Zac Dingle
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It was a baptism of fire for newly minted maritime warfare officer trainee MIDN Danielle, pulling watch on the bridge during the largest maritime cooperation activity (MCA) the Philippines has attempted.

The submariner change-over is embarked in HMAS Toowoomba during her regional presence deployment, standing duty during Exercise Balikatan while 10 warships from five partner nations sailed as one fleet.

“It was cool to see, because everyone had to put in a lot individually to make it happen collectively at the exact same time, so it was impressive,” MIDN Danielle said.

For the maritime component of Balikatan, the Philippine and United States Navy-led exercise also included participants from the Royal Australian and Canadian navies, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and United States and Philippine Coast Guards.

Only recently leaving the classroom, MIDN Danielle said she was awestruck to see the theory put into practice, and so many different nations operating seamlessly as one.

“It definitely takes a high level of skill to be able to conduct officer-of-the-watch manoeuvres to this level with this many units. Today was an excellent demonstration of how all of our different resources come together to achieve one unified outcome,” MIDN Danielle said.

Three naval personnel in camouflage and dark-blue uniforms stand on the deck of a ship at sea beneath a shaded canopy. In the foreground, one person wearing sunglasses and a cap stands with arms crossed. Behind them, a second person in similar uniform and sunglasses stands near ship equipment. On the right, a third person uses a mounted optical navigation instrument while holding a communication handset. The ocean and horizon are visible in the background. Visible text includes the name “REES” on a uniform
USN officer LT Brandon Nguyen uses the pelorus on the bridge wing of HMAS Toowoomba. Photo: LEUT Marcus Middleton

The ADF has been participating in Balikatan since 2014.

This year marked the first time a major fleet unit from the RAN has participated.

CO Toowoomba CMDR Alicia Harrison said it was the third MCA her ship had completed since departing Australia in January.

“Having 10 vessels from five nations operating in unison is no small feat, and to complete this so effortlessly demonstrates the high standard of interoperability, cooperation and readiness we collectively share to respond to shared security challenges,” CMDR Harrison said.

CMDR Harrison added there was no greater proof of this than having Philippine and United States Navy officers ‘take the con’ on board Toowoomba during the activity.

“Having officers from our partner nations ‘at the con’ during an extremely complicated exercise is a testament not only to the trust we share among our regional partners, but the faith all participating nations have in each other’s maritime skills and knowledge while working as one fleet,” CMDR Harrison said.

HMAS Toowoomba conducts a maritime cooperative activity as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026.
HMAS Toowoomba conducts a maritime cooperative activity as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026 while the ship is in the South China Sea. Photo: LEUT Marcus Middleton
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