WESTERN PHILIPPINE SEA –
Members of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 and Task Force Ashland, composed of Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) and embarked Marines from the I Marine Expeditionary Force, completed the Multilateral Maritime Event portion of Exercise Balikatan 2026, May 1.
At sea, DESRON 7 staff members embarked aboard Ashland to serve as the MME Task Group for maritime forces, including Australia, Japan, and Canada. The successful completion of the MME builds upon regular high-end Maritime Cooperative Activities, expanding multilateral cooperation and reinforcing our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The MME featured training in live-fire gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, medical evacuation, replenishments-at-sea, as well as deck landing qualifications for rotary-wing aircraft to enhance interoperability and operational readiness among participating forces.
“Each year, Balikatan evolves with the growing demands of the maritime environment,” said Capt. John Baggett, commodore, DESRON 7. “This year was no different. The strength of our partnerships throughout the region was on full display as 11 ships, 8 aircraft and several thousand Sailors, Marines and Coastguardsmen from around the Pacific stood shoulder-to-shoulder, increasing our lethality, expanding our interoperability and working together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Philippine Navy Lt.j.g. Emmanual Leron, who served as a liaison naval officer aboard Ashland for the evolution, said sailing shoulder-to-shoulder with allies and partners is an invaluable experience.
“Participating in this exercise is very important because it builds trust and confidence with our partners and allied nations. Although we do it individually, how we approach conducting these kinds of exercises together builds synergy and partnership, and we get to know more about each other,” said Leron. “We want to maintain security and stability, and it shows that all these allies and partner nations have the shared values, interests, and responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The MME demonstrated partnering nations’ abilities to cooperate together and increase sustained operations at sea.
“It was a really exciting opportunity to embark on [Ashland] and experience the different ways that the United States Navy operates, as well as working alongside the Marines to see the capabilities that they bring, increasing my understanding and furthering our interoperability in the region,” said Lt(N) Harrison Irvine, an LNO from the Royal Canadian Navy, embarked aboard Ashland. “Being able to cooperate here with countries like the Philippines, Japan, Australia, and the United States to increase our interoperability and support a freer and more open Indo-Pacific region is a key interest of the Royal Canadian Navy and the government of Canada.”
Ashland sailed with U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class cutter USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757); Philippine Navy landing platform dock BRP Tarlac (LD601), Miguel Malvar-class guided-missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG6), Jose Rizal-class guided-missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FFG15), Philippine Coast Guard Multi-Role Response Vessel Cape San Augustin (MMRV 4408); Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer JS Ise (DDH 182), Murasame-class destroyer JS Ikazuchi(DD 107) and Osumi-class tank-landing ship JS Shimokita(LST 4002); Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Halifax-class frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFG 339); and Royal Australian Navy Anzac-class frigate HMAS Toowoomba (FFG 156).
The Tagalog phrase “Balikatan” means “shoulder-to-shoulder,” which captures the spirit of the exercise and the close friendship between the United States and the Philippines. The biggest iteration of the exercise to date, Balikatan 2026 demonstrated the unwavering commitment to the ironclad U.S.-Philippine Alliance.
As the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed DESRON in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of assigned ships deployed to the Southeast Asia area of operations.
U.S. 7th Fleet, the Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts andoperateswith Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.