NEW DELHI: India is working both flanks of the Indian Ocean over the weekend, docking warships in Thailand and Seychelles as PM Narendra Modi arrived in Victoria for Seychelles’ 50th National Day, in a twin push to deepen maritime ties and sell its home-built warships and weapons across the Indo-Pacific.
In the eastern Indian Ocean, three Eastern Fleet warships, the indigenous BrahMos-armed stealth frigate INS Udaygiri, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kavaratti and fleet tanker INS Shakti, sailed into Sattahip, Thailand, on Saturday as part of an operational deployment, led by Rear Admiral Alok Ananda, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.
The task group was received by the Royal Thai Navy, with the visit set to feature professional exchanges, cross-deck visits, operational interactions and community outreach to bolster interoperability.
The port call, the Navy said, “reflects India’s continued maritime engagement with Southeast Asia,” and its longstanding partnership with Thailand, while showcasing the “indigenous design, modular construction and state-of-the-art technology” of Indian warships.
The Sattahip call comes two days after Udaygiri and Kavaratti wrapped up a port visit to Ho Chi Minh City, departing Vietnam on Wednesday, the first major Indian naval deployment to the country since the two sides elevated ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May.
It also follows India’s sharpening arms-export thrust in the region. Defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh disclosed at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month that New Delhi had signed a deal to supply BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Vietnam, making Hanoi the second foreign buyer of the Indo-Russian missile after the Philippines, with Indonesia next in line.
Vietnam has long sought the shore-based, anti-ship variant of the BrahMos to strengthen its coastal defences in the South China Sea, where it has maritime disputes with China.
To the west, INS Ikshak, an indigenously-built Survey Vessel (Large), reached Port Victoria on Friday to join Seychelles’ golden jubilee National Day celebrations. The 110-metre ship, third of four Sandhayak-class survey vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, will also run medical camps and distribute essential supplies during the visit.
The Navy said that the deployment reaffirms India’s commitment to maritime partnerships and to “peace, security and stability” in the Indian Ocean Region under the ‘MAHASAGAR’ (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision.
Modi, the Guest of Honour for the celebrations, is the first Indian PM to visit the archipelago in 11 years and the first to address its National Assembly.
Terming Seychelles a “valued maritime neighbour” and a key partner in MAHASAGAR, he is scheduled to hold talks with President Patrick Herminie on maritime security, defence and development cooperation. An armed forces contingent and two naval ships are taking part in the National Day events, the MEA said.
India has emerged as one of Seychelles’ principal security partners over the past decade, supplying patrol vessels, Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft and coastal radar systems to help the island nation guard its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the strategically important western Indian Ocean, a region where China has also been expanding its presence.