Canadian warship docks at Changi Naval Base in deployment to Asia-Pacific
Canadian warship HMCS Winnipeg arrived in Singapore on Tuesday as part of a six-month deployment to the Asia-Pacific region – the seventh Canadian ship to visit here in five years.
The frigate will be docked at Changi Naval Base for a week for maintenance works, and to provide a period of respite to the approximately 240 sailors on board.
This is HMCS Winnipeg’s second stop as part of Operation Projection, which seeks to increase Canada’s presence in the region.
The ship made a four-day port visit in Jakarta from last Wednesday to Saturday.
Canada’s High Commissioner to Singapore Jean-Dominique Ieraci described the continued visits to Singapore as “a concrete demonstration of our deepening bilateral defence and security ties”.
He added: “Security in the Indo-Pacific region is inseparable from Canada’s own security.”
As part of the operation, HMCS Winnipeg will engage with regional militaries and international security partners to take part in training exercises, aimed at building regional security and stability.
Commanding officer of HMCS Winnipeg Annick Fortin expressed gratitude for the support that the Republic of Singapore Navy has shown during this operation.
Said Commander Fortin: “As per our motto ‘One with the strength of many’, HMCS Winnipeg is ready to uphold Canada’s ongoing commitment to global peace and security, and enhance relationships with Canada’s allies and partners.”
Before embarking on Operation Projection, HMCS Winnipeg participated in Exercise Rim of the Pacific – a large-scale biennial maritime exercise which involved about 25,000 people from 26 nations – in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
HMCS Winnipeg will depart for Port Klang in Malaysia from Singapore, before visiting various ports in countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Japan.
A statement from the Canadian defence ministry said the frigate will also sail in the East and South China Sea, both independently and as part of cooperative deployments with allied and partner nations.
Canada and Singapore cooperate across several areas in defence and security, including cyber, health, and personnel exchanges, said a Canadian High Commission statement on Tuesday.
At the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in June, Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen and Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand signed an agreement to boost defence cooperation, including in areas such as military-to-military engagements and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.