Amid China standoff, Indian, US navies hold military drill

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

Just three weeks after India and Japan conducted a small naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, the world’s largest warship, the USS Nimitz, a nuclear-powered carrier of the US Navy accompanied by its flotilla, conducted a basic maritime drill with Indian Navy warships on Monday.

The exercise, conducted west of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, is classified as “Passex” in naval parlance. Operating together, the Indian and US naval forces conducted high-end exercises designed to maximise training and interoperability, including air defence. The exercise was conducted on Monday, Indian Navy Spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

Power play at sea

• The USS Nimitz is the world’s largest warship. The exercise assumes significance as it took place in the midst of China’s renewed military assertiveness in eastern Ladakh and the South China Sea
• The Indian Navy has increased its surveillance missions and beefed up operational deployment in the Indian Ocean region in the wake of the country’s border standoff with China

The US Navy flotilla, led by the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz, was on its way from the South China Sea to a deployment in the Middle East. Today’s exercise comes even as India and China remain locked in a tense border confrontation in Ladakh.

Ten days ago, the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, another US carrier, had conducted a drill in the South China Sea.

“Nimitz operations are designed to provide security throughout the region, while building partnerships with friends and allies,” a US Navy website said.