Navies of India, Singapore and Thailand begin maiden trilateral drill

A trilateral maiden naval exercise involving India, Singapore and Thailand commenced at Port Blair on Monday, the Navy said in a statement.

Another Exercise MAITREE, the annual bilateral exercise between the armies of India and Thailand, commenced at the Foreign Training Node (FTN), Umroi, Meghalaya, the Army said.

Under the ambit of the naval exercise, RSN Tenacious, a formidable-class guided missile stealth frigate, and His Majesty's Thailand Ship (HTMS) Kraburi, a guided missile frigate, will be exercising with Indian Naval Ship Ranvir, a guided missile destroyer, Kora, a missile corvette, and Sukanya, an offshore patrol vessel, along with P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft.

During the harbour phase scheduled at Port Blair, professional exchanges, sports fixtures and cross deck familiarisation visits will be organised.

The sea phase has been scheduled from September 18 to 20. A host of surface and air operations involving gunnery, force protection measures and communication drills will be conducted, providing experience, gaining and learning from each other's best practices, the statement said.

"The five-day-long exercise is aimed at bolstering the maritime inter-relationships amongst Singapore, Thailand and India, and contribute significantly to enhancing the overall maritime security in the region. This would also strengthen the mutual confidence amongst three navies in terms of interoperability and development of a common understanding of procedures," the statement added.

The aim of Exercise MAITREE is joint training of troops in counter-terrorism operations in both jungle terrain and urban scenario.

"Exercise MAITREE-2019 has been the face of long standing bilateral ties between India and Thailand since 2006," the statement added.

The 14-day exercise will be conducted under the framework of the United Nations mandate.

"Both contingents will share their valuable experiences in the conduct of counter-terrorism operations in form of lectures, drills, demonstrations and skill-at-arms with an aim to refine tactics, techniques and procedures," the statement added.

The exercise will culminate with a 48-hour joint exercise which will showcase the planning and execution of joint skills of soldiers while conducting any counter-terrorism operation.