NEW DELHI: As part of its diplomatic and military outreach programmes in the ASEAN nations, India has docked its submarine – INS Sindhukesari for the first time in Indonesia from February 22 to 24. Indonesia is among those countries which has been engaged in a naval dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.
As per the Indian Navy, the submarine concluded a 3-day visit to Indonesia. “It’s about strengthening the maritime partnership between India and Indonesia towards a safer and secure Indo-Pacific.” It is pertinent to mention here that Indian warships often visit Indonesia and other ASEAN countries. This is the first time that the submarine was deployed for long-range.
Under Xi Jinping’s regime, the Chinese have been trying to expand their territory by making intrusions into their neighbouring countries. On the land boundary, it has been attempting to ingress into Indian as well as Bhutanese territories.
The 3,000-tonne conventional diesel-electric submarine reached Jakarta after crossing the nearby Sunda Strait. In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jakarta, wherein he and Indonesian President Joko Widodo had agreed to strengthen cooperation in all areas by establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to take Indonesia and India’s bilateral relationship into a new era.
With context to the Indo-Pacific region, New Delhi has always been vouching for a free, open and rules-based region as it is important for the economic development of not only the region but also the wider global community.
In a major development, the Indian Navy had provided training to 21 personnel from the Philippines to handle BrahMos missile systems at Nagpur. India had contracted to deliver three batteries of the BrahMos missile system to the Philippines at a cost of USD 375 million.