A South Korean naval ship arrived at Tabaco Port in Albay to participate in a two-week Pacific Partnership Mission in Legazpi City, joining the United States (US) naval ship already docked there.

The South Korean naval ship is carrying over 100 crew members. It traveled for nearly five days from South Korea.

Most of the personnel aboard the Korean ship are medical staff, engineering personnel, and civilian experts. 

They will participate in the Indo-Pacific humanitarian exercise in the city.

"Like we said before, we always feel aware [of the] strongly allied Philippines and Korea, and we are very excited to do a lot of humanitarian mission here in Philippines during Pacific Partnerships," Park Jeong Won, Commanding Officer of ROKN Il Chul Bong LST-688, said.

Before the Korean navy's arrival, the US naval ship had already docked at the Legazpi City Port, with around 200 personnel, including military and medical teams from Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the US.

According to US Coast Guard Lt. Flor Joseph, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordinator for the Philippines, the mission aims to increase the urban search and rescue capacity of the local disaster management office by 30 percent.

"We're working for the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) to do that through... urban search and rescue training," he said.

The Pacific Partnership formally began on August 1, 2024 and will continue until August 14.