Following their participation in RIMPAC, Her Majesty's Canadian Ships (HMCS) Vancouver and Winnipeg continue to operate in the Indo-Pacific, where they will remain deployed until December 2022, on Operation (Op) PROJECTION and Operation NEON.
As part of Op PROJECTION, HMCS Vancouver and HMCS Winnipeg will participate in bilateral and multinational training exercises and engage with regional militaries and other international security partners in order to reinforce collective defence and promote stability in the region. The two frigates sailed across the Pacific together to Hawaii, and are now proceeding independently, with HMCS Winnipeg to South East Asia and HMCS Vancouver to North East Asia. They will also sail in the international waters of the East and South China Seas, both independently and as part of cooperative deployments with allied and partner nations.
While in North East Asia, for a period of roughly two months, HMCS Vancouver will also contribute to the monitoring of United Nations sanctions against North Korea through Op NEON. A CP-140 Aurora long range patrol aircraft will also deploy at a later date to support this mission and will operate out of Kadena Air base in Okinawa, Japan. HMCS Winnipeg will continue operating in the Indo-Pacific region as part of Canada's ongoing commitment to peace and security in the region.
