Indian, Indonesian naval ships to conduct joint exercise in Jakarta

Two frontline Indian Naval ships INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata arrived in Indonesia's Jakarta on Monday to participate in the Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Indonesian Navy.

The Indian Navy, in a press statement, said that INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata, the mission which is deployed in South Eastern IOR were accorded a warm welcome by the Indonesian Navy.

During the port call, personnel from Indian and Indonesian navies will engage in a wide range of professional interactions, joint yoga sessions, sports fixtures and cross-deck visits, aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation and understanding between the two navies.

Upon completion of the operational turnaround, the two ships will also participate in a MPX at sea with the Indonesian Navy towards further bolstering the high degree of interoperability that already exists between the two navies, according to the press statement.

INS Sahyadri is the third indigenously designed and built Project-17 class stealth frigate and INS Kolkata is the first indigenously designed and built stealth destroyer of the Project-15A class. Both the ships have been built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai, the statement added.

India and Indonesia's relations are becoming strong with time. Recently, Indo-Indonesia concluded its bilateral Exercise Samudra Shakti-23 in the South China Sea.

The sea phase held from May 17 to 19, 2023 witnessed the participation of Anti Submarine Warfare corvette INS Kavaratti with an integral Chetak helicopter and a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

The Indonesian Navy assets included KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda with an integral helicopter Panther and a CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft. A series of complex exercises including tactical manoeuvres, weapon firings, helicopter operations, Air defence and Anti-Submarine warfare exercises were undertaken that enhanced inter-operability between the two navies.

The sea phase was preceded by a fruitful harbour phase which saw professional interactions, tabletop exercises and sports exchanges.

The successful completion of Exercise Samudra Shakti-23 illustrated the strong partnership between India and Indonesia and reaffirmed the commitment of both navies to promote peace and stability in the region through cooperative engagements.