Indian Navy warship INS Sahyadri deployed to South China Sea

Indian Navy warship INS Sahyadri is currently on an operational deployment to the South China Sea, marking the second such maritime activity by India in the disputed waters in the past two weeks.

The Navy said on Sunday that INS Sahyadri had made a three-day port call (October 2-4) at Kemaman, Malaysia, as part of its Eastern Fleet’s deployment in the South China Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

“INS Sahyadri’s ongoing operational deployment underscores India’s stature as a responsible maritime stakeholder and a preferred security partner in the Indo-Pacific,” the Navy said.

Less than two weeks ago, Indian warship INS Nistar conducted a ten-day deployment as part of Exercise Pacific Reach-2025 (September 15-25), a multi-nation submarine rescue exercise. Uniquely, the US, South Korea and Japan were among the 40 participants in the drill hosted by Singapore.

Meanwhile, the INS Sahyadri’s visit to Malaysia aimed to strengthen India-Malaysia naval cooperation, enhance interoperability between the two navies, and facilitate the exchange of best practices. Malaysia is one of five countries engaged in a maritime territorial dispute with China in the hydrocarbon-rich South China Sea.

Beijing has unilateral overlapping maritime claims in South China Sea with Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan. 

With the increasing significance of the Indo-Pacific in the geopolitical seascape, both nations have increasingly recognised the importance of building regional partnerships based on mutual interest, the Navy added.

During the three-day visit, the ship’s commanding officer paid courtesy calls on Royal Malaysian Navy officers. The crew also conducted a yoga session and charity event, reflecting the Navy’s commitment to wellness and humanitarian engagement, and strengthening India-Malaysia friendship.

INS Sahyadri, a guided missile stealth frigate, has visited Malaysia twice before – at Port Klang in 2016 for a goodwill mission and at Kota Kinabalu in 2019 for Exercise Samudra Laksamana. These visits underscore the strong and evolving naval ties between the two countries.