Australian Defence Force Continues Regional Presence Deployment Program

Media Release

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is continuing its 2025 Regional Presence Deployment program with the departure of HMAS Sydney from Fleet Base East in Sydney. Over a three-month period, HMAS Sydney will participate in training and cooperation activities, including Exercise Bersama Shield alongside Five Power Defence Arrangements nations: Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Australian Defence Force Regional Presence Deployments involve visits throughout the Indo-Pacific region, focusing on exercises and cooperative activities with partner nations. These deployments reinforce cooperation between Australia and regional partners, demonstrating Australia’s ongoing commitment to regional security, stability, and the promotion of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. They also highlight Australia’s contribution to maintaining the global rules-based order in accordance with international law.

Australian vessels and aircraft will continue to exercise their rights to freedom of navigation and overflight under international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The first Regional Presence Deployment for 2025 was recently completed by HMAS Hobart, which conducted training exercises and activities with Indonesia, France, and the Philippines.

HMAS Sydney is one of three Hobart-class air warfare destroyers in service, with a crew of more than 200 personnel and an embarked MH-60R Seahawk helicopter. The crew remains dedicated to mission readiness as they embark on this deployment, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of the ship’s commissioning into service with the Navy in May.

This Regional Presence Deployment will conclude in early July 2025.