The 7th Fleet of the United States Navy has sent its command and control battle ship to Manila along with a small armada led by a carrier amid China’s alleged militarization in the South China Sea.
The USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) docked Friday and would stay until May 8, the US Embassy in Manila said.
The USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19), the lead ship of the two Blue Ridge-class command ships of the United States Navy and command ship of the 7th Fleet, arrived for a routine visit, the embassy said.
“The ship’s primary role is providing command, control, communication, computers, and intelligent support [C4I] to commander and staff of United States Seventh Fleet.The Blue Ridge was commissioned on Nov. 14, 1970 and its homeport is Yokosuka, Japan,” it said in a statement.
It is the third US Navy ship named after the Blue Ridge Mountains and is the oldest deployable warship in the US Navy.
The ship has a crew of 2,200 and has participated in such operations as Operation Eagle Pull (1975), Frequent Wind (1975), Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and Operation Tomodachi, which supported Japan in disaster relief following the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami.
According to Captain Lued Lincuna, spokesman of the Philippine Navy, the officers and crew of the C7F (Blue Ridge) has been given a port briefing aboard their ship subjects related to security, intelligence and health.
“Delegates of US C7F are set to render a courtesy call on the Chief of Naval Staff Rear Adm. Bayani Gaerlan, and conduct staff-to-staff talks with the members of PN command team. Personnel from LCC-19 and our Navy will also be engaged in a goodwill game of basketball in the duration of the visit,” Lincuna said.
“The interaction between the US navy personnel and their Filipino counterparts is a demonstration of fostering commitment to the long-standing alliance between the two nations which promotes peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.
