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231004-N-CM740-1124 MANILA, Philippines (Oct. 4, 2023) – Lt. Reybee Alegado, Philippine navy operations officer, right, and Capt. Rafael Fermin, U.S. Space Force, share their experience and perspectives during the maritime domain awareness seminar of Maritime Training Exercise (MTA) Sama Sama 2023. MTA Sama Sama is a multilateral exercise including forces from Philippines, the United States, Australia, France, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom designed to promote regional security cooperation, enhance maritime interoperability, and maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Robert Stamer)
231004-N-CM740-1124 MANILA, Philippines (Oct. 4, 2023) – Lt. Reybee Alegado, Philippine navy operations officer, right, and Capt. Rafael Fermin, U.S. Space Force, share their experience and perspectives during the maritime domain awareness seminar of Maritime Training Exercise (MTA) Sama Sama 2023. MTA Sama Sama is a multilateral exercise including forces from Philippines, the United States, Australia, France, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom designed to promote regional security cooperation, enhance maritime interoperability, and maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Robert Stamer)

December 10, 2023 | Originally published by U.S. Space Operations Command on November 6, 2023

Exercise SAMA SAMA, Filipino Translation for “together,” is an annual bilateral navy-to-navy exercise between the Philippines and the United States.

The exercise includes eight other countries with the participation of Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Marine National, and the Royal Navy as subject matter experts. Meanwhile, the Royal New Zealand Navy and Thai Navy also joined as observers.

Exercise SAMA SAMA serves as a vital platform for participating navies to exchange best practices, enhancing not only their own country’s Human Assistance Disaster Response capabilities but also fostering regional cooperation in response to shared and mutual challenges as well as nontraditional concerns.

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