VISAKHAPATNAM: In a fine demonstration of the operational reach and pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ policy, the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet ships INS Shakti and INS Kamorta reached the port of Makassar, Indonesia for a three-day visit on Friday. Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, NM, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, is leading the fleet ships.An ENC official said the presence of the frontline warships of the Indian Navy comes soon after both countries elevated their bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia on May 29.
The current visit of the Indian Naval Ships to Makassar seeks to enhance maritime cooperation between the two navies for security and stability in the region and further bolster India’s strong bonds of friendship with Indonesia.INS Shakti is a Fleet Tanker commanded by Captain SA Joglekar. INS Kamorta is indigenously built stealth Corvette, commanded by Commander Saiket Chatterjee. The duo are on the last leg of their two month operational deployment to South East Asia and Western Pacific Ocean.
The deployment also included the participation in MALABAR-18, a trilateral exercise between the Indian Navy, US Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) which was held off Guam, an Island territory of the US in the Pacific Ocean. The two Eastern Fleet ships along with INS Sahyadri had left Visakhapatnam for the deployment on April 30, 2018 and over the last two months visited Singapore, Sattahip (Thailand), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) DA Nang (Vietnam) and Guam(USA). On completion of the Malabar Exercise at Guam, INS Sahyadri proceeded to Hawaii to participate in Exercise RIMPAC involving participation of 26 navies.