16 October 2013 - Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Sahid S. Glang and Minister and Consul General Raquel R. Solano, attended the turnover rites of the 29-nation Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), held on October 13 at the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain, with Philippine Navy Captains Rosauro Sarmiento, Jr., and Antonio Palces, outgoing and incoming Philippine Senior National Representatives (SNRs), respectively.

The Philippines maintains a naval officer post at the CMF based inside the US Naval Support Activity (NSA) Center, US Fifth Fleet, Manama, Bahrain, to help in the international efforts to combat maritime piracy in the Horn of Africa, and to protect the  interests of Filipino seafarers onboard vessels traversing the high risk area in the region. The Philippines contributes about a third of the total number of the world’s seafarers. END