NEW DELHI: Three Indian warships sailed out of Port Sasebo in Japan and joined a US carrier strike group in the western Pacific Ocean on Monday. They will be part of a maritime warfare manoeuvre in which a nuclear-powered submarine from the US Navy is also participating.
As part of this year’s trilateral Malabar maritime exercise, which involves Japanese naval assets too, the three Indian warships joined the high-end operational exercise that has grown in scope and complexity over the years.
INS Ranvijay, a guided missile destroyer, INS Shivalik, a stealth frigate, and INS Shakti, a fleet tanker, are part of the exercise.
Malabar-2014, as the exercise is called, aims at enhancing multinational maritime relationships and mutual security cooperation, an Indian Navy spokesperson said here.
The shore-based phase of the exercise was over at Port Sasebo in Nagasaki on Saturday, following which the Indian warships sailed out for the phase of the training that will take place at sea.
The sea phase of the exercise will end on July 30 and vessels from India, US and Japan which are participating will conduct exercises including search and rescue, helicopter cross-deck landings, underway replenishments, gunnery and anti-submarine warfare, visit-board-search-seize operations and liaison officer exchange and embarkation.
“Designed to enhance maritime cooperation among the navies of the participating nations, these exercises further hone individual capacity to conduct operations in a multi-national environment,” the Navy spokesperson said.
Japan has sent two of its naval destroyers along with a P3C Orion surveillance plane and a US-2 amphibious operation sea-plane.