Canada sending naval ships to Pacific exercises as part of new strategic plan

Defence Minister Bill Blair says Canada will be sending Royal Canadian Navy vessels to support the Indo-Pacific Strategy in the coming days.

The Department of National Defence says HMCS Vancouver will leave for Hawaii to take part in Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2024, known as RIMPAC, which it says is the largest joint and combined maritime exercise in the world.

HMCS Max Bernays, MV Asterix and a shore-based contingent of about 300 Canadian Armed Forces members will also be at RIMPAC.

The department says this will be the second year that the navy will be deploying three warships to the region.

Once RIMPAC 2024 is concluded, Vancouver will continue sailing west across the Pacific Ocean for Operation Horizon, which is a forward-presence mission in the Indo-Pacific region.

Blair, who announced the navy participation while attending the Shangri-La defence forum in Singapore, says in a statement the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region is vital to Canada's future and the deployment shows that Canada is a partner for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.