HUMANITARIAN MISSION. The Republic of Korea ship Il Chul Bong (LST-688) arrives at the Tabaco City Port in Albay on Thursday (Aug.1, 2024). Korean soldiers and professors are set to join a two-week humanitarian mission as part of the Pacific Partnership 2024. (PNA photo by Connie Calipay)
TABACO CITY — The Republic of Korea ship Il Chul Bong (LST-688) on Thursday arrived at the Tabaco Port in Tabaco City, Albay province, carrying soldiers ready to provide services and assistance to residents of Legazpi City during a two-week humanitarian mission.
In an interview, LST-688 commander Park Jeong Won said they would conduct a series of activities as part of the Pacific Partnership 2024 to aid the city residents, particularly in construction and medical training.
“Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, and expect to have a good time for two weeks while we do the Pacific Partnership 2024,” he said in Korean, translated by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jang Jun Hyeong.
He said at least 202 personnel from the Korean Navy and Army, as well as professors of the National University of Seoul, joined the mission.
“We did a couple of exercises back in Korea four months ago, and we believe that we are completely ready for what we are going to do here for the Pacific Partnership here in the Philippines,” he said.
Park said they also wanted to visit Philippine veterans who served in the Korean War to send a message of gratitude.
“We feel the strong alliance of the Philippines and Korea, and we are very excited to do the humanitarian mission. With this kind of activity, we hope that our relationship will be stronger from here and now,” he added.
The mission team will be in Legazpi City until Aug. 14.
Early this week, the United States naval ship, City of Bismarck, arrived at the port of Legazpi from the US for the same mission.
The Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific. (PNA)