Canadian military to deploy warship, hundreds of personnel to Australian exercise
The Canadian military will deploy approximately 600 personnel from across its service branches to Australia next week as part of the country's largest ever commitment to the multinational Exercise Talisman Sabre.
The biennial exercise, led by Australia and the United States, will include more than a dozen other partner nations for three weeks of warfighting exercises on land, sea and air, starting on July 13.
The Department of National Defence confirmed Tuesday that Canada will send one Halifax-class frigate equipped with a Cyclone helicopter, as well as two Hercules cargo planes, a Globemaster cargo plane, and a Challenger jet carrying a medical evacuation team.
Capt. Wyatt Shorter, a spokesperson for the Canadian Joint Operations Command, says the historically large deployment reiterates the Canadian government's commitment to its Indo-Pacific Strategy, while demonstrating the increasing strength of the Canada-Australia defence relationship.
'There will be members from each of Canada's service environments deployed,' including the recently formed CAF Cyber Command, Shorter said in an emailed statement. 'Though for OPSEC (operational security) reasons, we won't specify the number of members from each environment.'
Canada has participated in several iterations of Talisman Sabre over the years, including in 2021 when the exercise drew a pair of suspected Chinese surveillance ships to the waters off the Australian coast.
Read more: Canadian warship joins multinational exercise off Australia
HMCS Ville de Quebec, the frigate scheduled to participate in this month's exercise, deployed from Halifax in April with approximately 240 navy and air force personnel on board.
The vessel joined a United Kingdom-led carrier strike group patrolling the coast of Europe before transiting to the Pacific region.
The defence ministers from Australia and Canada met in Vancouver last August to announce closer co-operation between the two countries and condemn Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, which they described as 'inconsistent with international law.'
A joint statement following the meeting said Australia welcomes Canada's increasing military presence in the Indo-Pacific region as the two countries committed to deepening their defence ties.
The following month, a Canadian frigate visited a northern Australian port to rearm with missiles and munitions while deployed, marking the first ever overseas rearmament of a Halifax-class vessel.
The Australian defence ministry said the operation, which included the rearming of an American destroyer, was the first time the country had rearmed foreign ships on its northern coast.
Exercise Talisman Sabre is scheduled to last until Aug. 4 and will allow the Canadian Forces to 'collaborate with key allies and partners, showcasing their professionalism and operational excellence,' Shorter said.
'By enhancing interoperability and operational readiness, this exercise contributes to fostering a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.'
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