French frigate to visit Guam, as FDM training resumes

As military activities continue to increase in the Marianas region, a French surveillance frigate will arrive on Guam this Friday, even as military exercises on Farallon De Mendinilla resume today.

These events would take place just after the military completed missile exercises with the Royal Thai Navy on Guam, helicopter training on Tinian, and bombing exercises on FDM.

The Naval Forces Marianas headquartered on Guam said the French frigate Vendemiaire would dock at the Apra Harbor for a three-day visit.

The Vendemiaire is a 3,000-ton surveillance frigate equipped with a Panther helicopter. The U.S. Navy said the frigate “is one of six of this class of ships assigned to the surveillance of French overseas naval interests.”

“The ship is based in Noumea as part of the French permanent naval fleet in the Pacific Ocean. Its crew consists of 10 officers, 36 petty officers and 40 junior sailors,” the U.S. Navy said. “The Vendemiaire conducts numerous missions, including patrol of the sea, navigation police, projection of deterrent forces and evacuation of French citizens.”

The Royal Thai Navy just completed its bilateral exercise with the U.S. Navy Friday. Approximately 100 miles south of Guam, the Royal Thai Navy Fokker 27 aircraft launched an AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile and accurately hit a prepared, floating target at sea.

“The target, a converted barge, was then sunk by an armed Harpoon missile fired by a U.S. Navy aircraft. Target and missile debris was sunk in approximately 2,000 feet of water,” the U.S. Navy said.

Meanwhile, the CNMI Emergency Management Office announced that military training would resume on FDM today. The EMO said the military would conduct aerial maneuver training from 11am to 4pm. The same training would be conducted on Sept. 12 on a similar time schedule, the EMO said.

From Sept. 15 to 22, the EMO said the military would conduct bombing exercises daily from 10am to midnight. The military will then conduct an aerial survey on the island on Sept. 20 from 8am to 12pm.

“The general location of [these activities] will be on the island of Farallon De Mendenilla Training Area (R7201) from surface to 5,000 feet mean sea level on a 10-nautical mile radius on all quadrants,” the EMO said in a public advisory.

Noting the danger posed by the activities, the EMO advised the public—especially fishermen, tour operators, and commercial pilots—to stay away from the site during the scheduled training.

The U.S. Navy had just completed bombing exercises on FDM Friday, which began two weeks ago. The helicopter training at the Tinian North Field, which also began during that week, concluded Thursday.

The U.S. Navy recently joined naval units of allied countries in one of the largest joint maritime exercises in the world, amid Pentagon’s plans to transform the Marianas region as the nation’s military hub on the edge of Asia.

Countries that joined the United States in the Rim of the Pacific 2004 include Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.