In pursuance of India’s Act East Policy and demonstration of its commitment to peace and prosperity in Indo-Pacific region, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sahyadri on Tuesday arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to participate in the 26th edition of Exercise RIM of PACific (RIMPAC).
Exercise RIMPAC is the largest multilateral naval exercise in the world, and is held biennially in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Indian Naval participation in RIMPAC 18 provides a platform for multilateral operational interactions aimed at increased interoperability and development of common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations, the Indian Navy said in a statement.
The professional exchanges in harbour and diverse range of activities at sea, including complex surface, sub-surface and air operations would enable sharing of best practices and honing of operational skills.
Indian Navy’s association with RIMPAC commenced with participation as an "observer" in 2006, 2010 and 2012 editions.
In 2014, Indian Naval involvement was enhanced with deployment of INS Sahyadri for the 24th edition of the exercise, it added.
Subsequently, the 25th edition of the exercise was attended by INS Satpura in 2016.
The current edition of the exercise is scheduled off Hawaii from June 27 to August 2 27 and is likely to be attended by navies of 26 countries.
INS Sahyadri, commanded by Captain Shantanu Jha, an indigenously built is a state-of-the-art guided-missile stealth frigate is a part of Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command.
Prior to arriving for RIMPAC 18, the ship also participated in the 22nd edition of MALABAR 18 exercise in the southwestern Pacific region from June 7-16.
