By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, KUNA
New Delhi : India and the Southeast Asian nation of Singapore are currently holding SIMBEX, “Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercises,” off the countrys eastern coast, to deepen bilateral military ties.
“SIMBEX is an institutionalised and regular series of annual exercises conducted between the Indian Navy and the navy of the Republic of Singapore (RSN),” according to an Indian Defence Ministry statement released on Saturday.
“The present edition of the exercise which started on March 16 will continue till March 30,” the statement said. “The Indian Navy’s operational interaction with the RSN, which commenced with modesty pitched anti-submarine training exercises in 1994, has grown steadily and impressively over the past 14 years,” the statement added.
For SIMBEX-2008, Singapore has fielded one “Endurance class” landing platform dock (RSS Persistence), one “Formidable class” frigate (RSS Formidable), two “Victory Class” guided- missile corvettes (RSS Vigilance and Valour), and one “Fokker-50” maritime patrol aircraft.
Indian participation in the exercise included one guided missile destroyer (INS Rajput), one guided-missile frigate (INS Gomati), two guided-missile corvettes (Kirch Kuthar), two missile vessels (Vinash Vibhut), one fast attack craft (INS Trinkat), one submarine(INS VAGLI) shore-based fighter aircraft(IN Kiran IAF MIG-27s) medium-range maritime patrol aircraft (Dornier) and shipborne helicopters. Bilateral interaction was progressed at sea as well as in harbour. While the harbour phase focussed on sharing operational experiences through professional interaction, the sea phase concentrated upon the conduct of a plethora of exercises ranging from surface firings and anti aircraft engagements to anti submarine warfare exercises and serials involving the deployment and coordination of maritime patrol aircraft as well as shore based fighters, according to the statement. The Indian Navy lays great stress on enhancing and sustaining bilateral ties, as also on improving mutual understanding with regional navies, through exercises such as those of the SIMBEX series.
“These exercises not only provide immense training value to our sea going personnel but also help in fostering mutual trust and friendship between our respective nations, adding strength to our commitment and resolve to tackle common challenges with the maritime domain,” the statement said.