India, Indonesia joint naval exercise 'Samudra Shakti' underway in Bay of Bengal

Anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta is jointly exercising with Indonesian warship KRI Usman Harun, a multi-role corvette, in the Bay of Bengal as part of an ongoing bilateral exercise 'Samudra Shakti', officials said.

The joint exercises include, manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises, air defence exercises, weapon firing drills, helicopter operations and boarding operations.

"INS Kamorta, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, is jointly exercising with Indonesian warship KRI Usman Harun, a multi-role corvette in the Bay of Bengal as part of the ongoing Indian Navy-Indonesian Navy bilateral exercise 'Samudra Shakti' from November 6-7," the Indian Navy said in a statement.

KRI Usman Harun arrived at Visakhapatnam on November 4 to participate in the second edition of Ex 'Samudra Shakti'.

The harbour phase, which was conducted on November 4-5, included professional interactions in the form of subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE), cross deck visits, simulator drills, planning conferences, sports fixtures and social interactions, officials said.

Indonesian Ambassador to India Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro witnessed some of the activities of the harbour phase at Visakhapatnam, the Navy said.

The ambassador held discussions with Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, along with Indonesian Navy Delegation headed by Cmde Yayan Sofiyan, Commander of Security Task Force of Indonesian Fleet Command on issues of mutual maritime interest in the region, the statement said.