NEW DELHI: India and France on Sunday kicked off their major “Varuna” naval exercise in the Arabian Sea, as a step towards promoting maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
The bilateral exercise, in which France has also deployed its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle with its Rafale-M naval jets, comes soon after the two countries joined the US, Japan and Australia in the “France-plus-Quad” La Pérousewargames in the Bay of Bengal earlier this month.
With China’s aggressive and expansionist behavior in the Indo-Pacific, there is growing strategic congruence among like-minded democratic countries to ensure a stable and secure Indo-Pacific as well as a rules-based order in the region.
NEW DELHI: India and the three other Quad countries kicked off a major naval exercise along with France in the Bay of Bengal on Monday, underlining the growing strategic congruence in ensuring a secure and stable Indo-Pacific in face of China’s belligerence in the region.
This came a day after Russia said it attached great importance on “rejection of confrontation and bloc-type approaches”, thought to be a reference to Quad and the Indo-Pacific initiative, both of which it views as “divisive” and aimed at containing China.
Incidentally, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov landed in Delhi on an official visit Monday. In the Bay of Bengal, India deployed its stealth frigate INS Satpura and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan, along with P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft, for the three-day “La Pérouse” exercise.
French Navy ships Assault helicopter carrier Tonnerre and Surcouf frigate at Kochi port ahead of France-led La Pérouse joint exercise with QUAD members (ANI Photo)
NEW DELHI: India and the three other Quad countries kicked off a major naval exercise with France in the Bay of Bengal on Monday, underlining the growing strategic congruence in ensuring a secure and stable Indo-Pacific in face of China’s belligerence in the region.
India deployed its advanced stealth frigate INS Satpura and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan, along with P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft, for the three-day “La Pérouse” exercise led by France.
Indian Navy to conduct second edition of Sea Vigil , largest coastal defence exercise, today Sea Vigil is meant to check the efficacy of safety procedures put in place after the 26/11 terror attack, when terrorists had entered Mumbai via the sea route FP Staff January 12, 2021 13:04:58 IST The biennial pan-India coastal defence exercise, inaugural edition of which was conducted in January 2019, will be undertaken along the entire 7,516 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India. ANI
The Indian Navy will kick-start the second edition of mega defence exercise, Sea Vigil, on Tuesday. The two-day exercise will cover the country s 13 coastal states and Union Territories along with other maritime stakeholders, officials said.