The following is a summary of major ship movements and exercises in the Western Pacific over the last week.
In Singapore
The International Institute of Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue began Friday and runs through Sunday at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. The annual summit gathers defense ministers, senior defense officials and military officers from around the world. Secretary of the Defense Department Pete Hegseth is leading the U.S. delegation, which also includes U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo, , head of U.S. Forces Korea Gen. Xavier Brunson and deputy commander of INDOPACOM Lt. Gen George Rowell.
Hegseth arrived around 3 a.m. local time Friday in Singapore. He spent the morning aboard amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4) for a PT session with sailors and marines. Boxer pulled into Singapore on May 19. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group includes Boxer, USS Comstock (LSD-45), USS Portland (LPD-27) and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Comstock is in U.S. 5th Fleet while Portland is still operating in the Western Pacific.
Hegseth on Friday also met with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Defense Minister Chan Chun Seng, Vietnam President To Lam, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang and Thailand Defense Minister Adul Boonthumjaroen. The Vietnamese president is slated to deliver a keynote address late Friday during the Shangri-La Dialogue. Hegseth is scheduled to speak Saturday, with his speech titled “United States’ Strategy For Peace In The Indo-Pacific,” according to the event agenda.
For the second year in a row, China’s Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun is skipping the summit. Dong attended in 2024 but China has since downgraded its presence and is instead represented by officers from its defense training and education institutions. Major General Meng Xiangqing of the National Defense University will lead China’s delegation during the Shangri-La Dialogue.
While the plenary sessions, speeches and discussions draw the most attention, the more significant activities at the Shangri-La Dialogue are the bilateral and multilateral meetings between ministers and their delegations. Hegseth, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles are expected to make an announcement Saturday regarding AUKUS. Additionally, the Ministers of the Five Power Defense Arrangement (FPDA) of Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the U.K. will convene for an informal breakfast meeting held on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue. The FPDA nations’ defense chiefs will also hold a meeting at Shangri-La Dialogue.
Hegseth is also expected to hold a trilateral defense meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and South Korea Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back.
Additionally, Malaysian Defense Minister Khaled Nordin is expected to meet with Norway’s Defense Minister Tore Sandvik to discuss the Nordic country’s cancellation of the sale of Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles to Malaysia.
In Changi Naval Base, Singapore
Italian Navy multi-purpose combat ship ITS Giovanni Delle Bande Nere (P434) is visiting Changi Naval Base in Singapore until Sunday. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who is attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, visited the ship on Thursday.
Giovanni Delle Bande Nere is on an Indo-Pacific deployment, having left May 3 from Italy, with the ship eventually making its way to Hawaii to participate in the U.S. Navy’s Rim of the Pacific 2026 exercise held from June 24-July 31 and the subsequent Pacific Dragon Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) exercise.
In the Indian Ocean
A 10-ship Russian convoy is operating in the Indian Ocean after transiting the Singapore Strait and the Strait of Malacca this week, according to ship spotters and open source satellite photos. The convoy includes corvettes RFS Sovershennyy (333) and RFS Rezkiy (343), a Dubna class fleet oiler, tugboat Andrei Stepanov and six cargo ships, MV Angara, MV Maia 1, MV Lady D, MV Lady Mariia, MV Lady R and MV Kapitan Danilkin.
AIS data show the convoy sailed north through the Malacca Strait to enter the Andaman Sea. Open source satellite photos show the convoy now in the Indian Ocean. It is unclear where the convoy is headed, having set out in early May from Vladivostok, Russia.
In Phuket, Thailand
The Republic of Singapore Navy and the Royal Thai Navy concluded on Tuesday the 22nd edition of bilateral Exercise Singsiam in Phuket, Thailand.
Held from May 18-26 in Singapore and Phuket, Thailand, the exercise saw both navies conduct a series of maritime security and conventional warfare drills, including gunnery firings, communication exercises and maneuvering serials. Ashore, the navies conducted subject matter exchanges on unmanned systems and anti-drone operations.
The Royal Singapore Navy deployed frigate RSS Stalwart (72), littoral mission vessel RSS Unity (17) and a Republic of Singapore Air Force Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). The Royal Thai Navy participated with frigates HTMS Taksin (FFG-422) and HTMS Kraburi (FFG-457) and a Dornier-228 MPA. The four ships sailed from Singapore to Phuket as part of the exercise.
In the Philippine Sea
The People’s Liberation Army Navy Liaoning Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Philippine Sea east of Luzon, according to a Tuesday report from Japan’s Joint Staff Office. The strike group includes aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning (16), cruiser CNS Wuxi (104), destroyer CNS Kaifeng (124), frigate CNS Luohe (545) and fast combat support ship CNS Hulunhu (901). The PLAN announced the CSG’s deployment to the Western Pacific on May 19, describing it as routine training
In Cotabato City, Philippines
On Friday, U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin 26 (MRF-D 26) concluded Marine Exercise 2026 (MAREX26) with the Philippines Marine Corps, which began May 18.
“MAREX strengthens interoperability between the Philippine Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps while reinforcing the enduring U.S.-Philippine alliance and combined readiness to respond to any crisis,” reads an MRF-D photo release.
In Paracel Islands, South China Sea
The Chinese military on Wednesday claimed to have driven off Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Ruyter (F804) from the Paracel Islands, USNI News reported. De Ruyter is on Indo-Pacific deployment Pacific Archer 26 that includes participation in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 and Pacific Dragon 2026 exercises in Hawaii. The frigate is also conducting North Korea sanctions violations monitoring patrols in the Yellow and East China seas.
In the Java Sea
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Ikazuchi (DD-107) concluded a port visit Sunday to Jakarta and conducted a passage exercise with Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Bung Tomo (357) following its departure.
Ikazuchi with helicopter destroyer JS Ise (DDH-182) and amphibious landing ship JS Shimokita (LST-4002) comprise the First Surface Unit of the JMSDF Indo-Pacific Deployment 2026 (IPD26) mission, the JMSDF’s annual presence and engagement deployment to the Indo-Pacific. The First Surface Unit participated in the Balikatan exercise held in the Philippines. Ise and Shimokita have returned home to Japan but Ikazuchi remains deployed under IPD26.
Separately, Japan’s maritime force announced Thursday that destroyer carrier JS Kaga (DDH-184), part of the Second Surface Unit of IPD26, will participate in joint U.S.-Japan drills June 4-12 that involve Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft taking off and landing from the ship.
Off Kyushu, Japan
Aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) and assigned Carrier Air Wing (CVW-5) are conducting Carrier Qualification training off Kyushu, Japan. The training is expected to conclude Saturday, and the carrier will then commence its spring patrol following full embarkation of CVW-5.
George Washington departed May 23 from Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka with cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62).
In the Miyako Strait, Japan
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force sighted PLAN amphibious assault ship CNS Anhui (33) and frigate CNS Anyang (599) on May 22 sailing southeast 110 kilometers southwest of Kume Island, according to a Monday report from Japan’s Joint Staff Office. The PLAN ships sailed southeast through the waters between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island to enter the Philippine Sea. A JMSDF P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft monitored the PLAN ships, according to the news release.
In the East China Sea
A Chinese Y-9 Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) aircraft flew in Thursday from the Chinese mainland and over the East China Sea to the south of Japan’s Danjo Islands, according to a report from Japan’s Joint Staff Office. The ELINT aircraft then proceeded southwest, turning around over the waters northeast of Okinawa to fly a circuit south of the Danjo Islands and northeast of Okinawa and then flew in the direction of China. Fighter aircraft from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF) Western Air Defense Command were scrambled in response.
South of Kanto, Japan
A JMSDF P-1 MPA, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon MPA, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon MPA and a U.S. Navy submarine carried out anti-submarine warfare training Tuesday in the waters south of the Kanto region on the main island of Honshu, according to an announcement from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force.
In the South Pacific
JMSDF frigate JS Kumano (FFM-2) participated in bilateral exercise “Oguri-Verny 26” with a French Navy Falcon 200 maritime surveillance aircraft on May 24 in the waters east of the French territory of New Caledonia. Anti-air warfare and communication exercises were carried out during the drill.
In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Tamar (P233) is in Port Moresby for a port visit and to conduct engagements, including a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) planning exercise, with the Papua New Guinea Defense Force.
In Townsville, Australia
Marine Rotation Force-Darwin 26 (MRF-D 26) with the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division are participating in the Australia-U.S.-Japan exercise Southern Jackaroo 2026, which runs Friday to July 3. The primary focus of this year’s exercise is interoperability advancement along with testing the forces’ combined arms integration. Participating Australian troops include the 3rd Brigade Australian Army, while Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) troops are primarily from the JGSDF 7th Infantry Regiment.
This post was written by Dzirhan Mahadzir.
