MANILA — Logistic support vessel BRP Dagupan City (LC-551) is well-suited to participate in the first-ever ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise (ACMEX) 2018, which will be held from Oct. 21 to 28 in Zhanjiang.
Navy spokesperson Commander Jonathan Zata made this comment Tuesday after noting that ACMEX’s main thrust is humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), a mission the BRP Dagupan is well suited for.
“HADR and rescue, and assistance naman yung main thrust of ACMEX (2018). BRP Dagupan is one of our logistics ships that is well suited and well tested in that mission requirement,” Zata said in a message to the Philippine News Agency.
AMEX 2018 will be hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy and China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
A send-off ceremony for the BRP Dagupan City and its 300-man contingent was held Wednesday morning at at Captain Salvo Pier, Naval Base, Cavite City.
AMEX 2018 aims to provide military exchanges between ASEAN member states navies and their Chinese counterpart, focusing on maritime safety, search-and-rescue at sea with emphasis on the use of Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES).
The 273-foot long BRP Dagupan City has a displacement of 4,265 tons at full load with a draft of 12 feet and a top speed of 12 knots. It was commissioned in PN service in 1990s.
Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong earlier said the proposal for a joint ASEAN and Chinese naval exercise was submitted during the ASEAN Defense Minister Meeting in Singapore in February. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
