Foreign navies gather in Southwick
The Royal Navy hosted naval delegates from across the Pacific and Indian Ocean for a series of talks on co-operation, security and trade in the region.
Held at Southwick House, the Pacific and Indian Oceans Shipping Working Group saw representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US, pictured.
Other attendees were from France, Norway and a sister organisation representing four South American nations.
The meeting looked at information-sharing between navies in order to improve the security of trade by sea, as well as how to maintain close relations between military and civilian shipping in the two oceans.
Chairman of the group Commander Michael Oomen of the Royal New Zealand Navy, said: ‘This working group has a dual function. The first is to develop doctrine and procedures so that different navies can share information in order to help protect merchant shipping. The second is to plan for an international exercise so that those navies have an opportunity to test their procedures for sharing information.’