Canadian Navy Launches Training Program With Fiji

Sputnik News

05:34 16.08.2017

The National Defense said that Canada is sending a naval team to help train the maritime forces of Fiji.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Canada is sending a naval team to help train the maritime forces of the island nation of Fiji in the Pacific Ocean, the National Defense said in a press release.

"The Naval Security Team (NST) of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) deployed a team of approximately a dozen sailors on August 11 from Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt to Fiji to conduct force generation training with the Republic of Fiji Navy," the release stated on Tuesday.

The deployment is part of the RCN's Poseidon Cutlass series of deployments and will provide a persistent Canadian Asia Pacific presence and an ongoing opportunity to engage in numerous exercises with regional partner navies at sea, National Defense explained.

"The NST is a globally deployable naval team designed primarily to provide enhanced force protection for the safety and security of deployed RCN ships and personnel at home or overseas," the release noted.

Canada has issued a new defense policy emphasizing its commitment to the Asia- Pacific, National Defense added.

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