HMAS Melbourne (II), the flagship of the Australian Fleet is sailing from Sydney for the South ...

HMAS Melbourne (II), the flagship of the Australian Fleet is sailing from Sydney for the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) exercise Sea Rover. The exercise is to be held in the South China Sea from 23 March to 9 April 1970. HMAS Derwent, destroyer escort (out of picture), is sailing with the aircraft carrier. HMAS Melbourne will operate in the exercise with 40 other warships from Britain, Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand and the United States. Other Australian ships taking part will be the destroyer escort HMAS Yarra, the Daring class destroyer HMAS Duchess, and the Oberon Class submarine HMAS Oxley. Captain G V Gladstone is Commanding Officer of HMAS Melbourne. Also on board is Rear Admiral (Rear Adm) H D Stevenson, Flag Officer Commanding the Australian Fleet (FOCAF). Flying operations will be staged over Brisbane, Manus Island and Lae, as the ship moves north. Naval and air forces of six SEATO member nations will take part in the exercise. The combined maritime defence programme is the 37th exercise to be conducted by SEATO member nations since the organisation was formed in 1954. Warships taking part will assemble at Manila in the Philippines, and at Sattahip in Thailand. After a variety of training activities a convoy operation will start from the Philippines and end in the Gulf of Thailand. During this phase the convoy will be subjected to simulated underwater attacks from Australian, British and United States submarines, and to simulated air attacks from the Philippines Air Force. Rear Adm H D Stevenson, RAN, has been appointed co-Deputy Director with Rear Adm Fupa Gajefeni of Thailand. Rear Adm W T Rapp, USN, has been appointed exercise director.