In an effort to deepen maritime engagement and pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ policy, the Indian Navy’s two ships INS Shakti and INS Kamorta on Saturday reached Port of Makassar in Indonesia on a three day visit.
Both the ships reached their under the command of Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. “The ships’ stay in Makassar would include professional interaction, sports fixtures and social interactions with the Indonesian Navy. The ships would also be open to visitors, the Indian Navy said. This visit aims to further strengthen the strong bond and mutual understanding between the two Navies. 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, 2018. 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, Indian Navy spokesperson Capt DK Sharma said. INS Shakti, a Fleet Tanker, commanded by Captain SA Joglekar and indigenously built stealth Corvette INS Kamorta commanded by Commander Saiket Chatterjee is 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 has proceeded to Hawaii to participate in Exercise RIMPAC involving participation of 26 navies.
