Indo Pacific Endeavour 2019 : Four Australian warships arrive for joint exercise

Colombo (News 1st): Four warships with over 1000 personnel arrived in the island at Colombo and Trincomalee today (March 23). This is Australia's largest ever defence engagement with Sri Lanka, the Indo Pacific Endeavour 2019 also known as IPE 19. Australian and Sri Lankan defence forces will work together on disaster assistance planning, naval maneuvers, and military training activities to improve cooperation, familiarity, and inter-operability before the ships depart on March 30 to India. The ships will travel to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore before returning to Australia. After their arrival in Sri Lanka, Australia’s Acting High Commissioner Jon Philip noted that they are proud to have this opportunity to engage with Sri Lanka to deepen their engagement with Sri Lanka as a partner of choice. Commander of the Joint Task Force 661, Air Commodore Rick Owen had this to say,

"This is the first stop of the Indo Pacific Endeavor 2019. It's an important stop given the history that Sri Lanka holds in the Indian ocean and in the present time and I believe in the future as well. We want Sri Lanka to be happy to be have asked us as our strategic partner in the Indian Ocean."