Indian and Indonesian navies conduct exercise in Arabian sea

The Indian and Indonesian navies carried out a military exercise in the Arabian sea on Thursday to enhance operational interoperability and overall cooperation. Indian naval ship INS Talwar and Indonesian Navy’s multirole corvette KRI Bung Tomo were part of the exercise, the Indian Navy said.

“Enhancing Interoperability & strengthening Bilateral Maritime Cooperation Indian Navy Ship INS Talwar and Indonesian Navy’s multirole Corvette KRI Bung Tomo, conducted Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Arabian Sea today,” it said in a tweet.

India’s maritime cooperation with Indonesia witnessed a renewed momentum in the last few years.

Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Navy participated in maritime exercises in the last few months with a number of countries, including Japan, Russia, Australia and the US.

In November, India hosted the Malabar exercise, in which the navies of the US, Japan and Australia participated. India invited Australia for the exercise, effectively making it a drill by all the Quad member nations.

The Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, is aimed at ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific, a region that has witnessed increasing Chinese military assertiveness in recent years.