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West Australian
29-04-2025
- General
- West Australian
Anzac Day 2025: HMAS Toowoomba visits Albany for 110th anniversary of Gallipoli landing
HMAS Toowoomba and its 190 officers and sailors paid Albany a visit for the 2025 Anzac Day services and commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli. April 25, 1915, saw 16,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers land on the shores of Gallipoli in modern-day Turkey during World War I after the Royal Australian Navy's HMA Submarine AE2's efforts to navigate through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara. Former Albany resident weapons electrical engineer officer Darcy Cook returned aboard the Royal Australian Navy frigate. He said he first joined the navy through an apprenticeship in 1991 after his high school, St Joseph's College, was visited by a navy recruiting team, thinking it was a 'really good idea'. 'It's a huge privilege to have the opportunity to come back to my home town and to meet all my old friends my family, but also to show the town off in all its glory to my shipmates on HMAS Toowoomba,' he said. HMAS Toowoomba's crew joined thousands who turned out for the dawn service, the trooping down York Street, and the commemorative service to acknowledge and remember past servicemen and women. HMAS Toowoomba commanding officer Cmdr Barton Harrington said the visit to Albany was his fourth with the navy, and 'each and every time' he received a 'warm welcome'. 'The dawn service is particularly significant in the town of Albany as it's the last place that many of the first Anzacs saw of Australia before they went off to the war,' he said. 'Conducting the dawn service here really allows us to reflect on the sacrifice they made, and so many other servicemen and women have made over the years. 'It's so important to be down in Albany whenever we can . . . it's the last place many of the Anzacs saw of Australia, but it's also great to get out to the regional town and show the people the navy is out there and contributing to the security of the country each and every day, and build that connection with the community.'
Times of Oman
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Australia deploys warships and surveillance aircraft to track Chinese naval task groups near its waters
Canberra: The Australian Navy has deployed three ships and surveillance aircraft to "closely monitor" a Chinese task group operating "near Australia" since mid-February, according to a report by Radio Free Asia (RFA). Richard Marles, also serving as deputy Prime Minister, stated on Thursday that the three Anzac-class frigates - HMAS Stuart, HMAS Warramunga, and HMAS Toowoomba - were tracking the Chinese warships, which were located approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) northwest of Perth, as reported by RFA. "From the moment this task force entered the vicinity of Australia, in an unprecedented manner, we have been observing their movements," Marles mentioned. "We intend to continue monitoring them as long as they remain in the vicinity of Australia," he added, as cited by RFA. The Chinese task group consists of the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi, and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, according to RFA. A report from RFA indicated that on February 21, they conducted a live-fire drill in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand on very short notice, leading airlines to reroute flights to avoid potential accidents. In response to Canberra's concerns, Chinese officials stated that the warships' operations "have consistently been conducted safely, in a standardized and professional manner, and in line with relevant international laws and practices," as reported by RFA. (ANI) While the Chinese vessels have the right to freedom of navigation under international law, analysts noted that China was signaling its capacity to project military power, as highlighted in the RFA report. "It is evident that China is utilizing this naval deployment of three ships to convey a strategic message to Australia and the wider region that China intends to extend its naval capabilities beyond its coastal waters and into the maritime zones of other countries," remarked Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, according to RFA.
