Indian Navy announces operational deployment to South China Sea

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee 

New Delhi, May 7

Indian Navy has started an operational deployment in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

Two warships INS Delhi and INS Shakti arrived at Singapore on Monday.

“The visit is part of the 'operational deployment' of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet to the South China sea,” Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

The Navy did not specify which all countries will the ships visit, or if, the Indian Navy would join patrols of countries like US or Japan in the South China Sea.

China illegally claims vast portions of the South China Sea as its own. The same is contested by five other countries — Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan — that are in a maritime territorial dispute with China.

The INS Delhi and INS Shakti have diverse roles at sea. The latter is fleet support ship carrying fuel water and supplies that can transferred mid-sea to another ship.

The INS Delhi is a ‘guided missile destroyer’ that is equipped with the BrahMos missile, among other weapons.

The two Indian warships were accorded a warm welcome by personnel of Republic of Singapore Navy and the High Commissioner of India in Singapore. 

The Navy said this visit is poised to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two maritime nations through a series of engagements and activities.

During the ships' stay in harbour, various activities planned to be undertaken include interactions with the High Commission of India, professional interactions with the Republic of Singapore Navy as also academia and community outreach amongst other activities, reflecting the shared values of both navies.

The Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy have had robust relations spanning three decades of cooperation, coordination and collaboration with regular visits, exchange of best practices, and reciprocal training arrangements.

The current deployment underscores the strong linkages between both the navies, the Indian Navy said.

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