Australia, Philippines visit C7F

U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Pat Hannifin shakes hands with Philippine Marine Corps 3d Marine Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Wilredo B. Manalang Jr. aboard U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) during a multilateral exercise with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Royal Australian Navy in the Sulu Sea, April 13, 2026. U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Caitlin Flynn)