Navy taking part in multilateral exercises

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, JUNE 12. The Indian Navy is participating in its first-ever multilateral exercise abroad with four officers attending the first Western Pacific Mine Countermeasure and Diving Exercise which commenced here today.

Though no Indian ship has come, it is for the first time that the Indian Navy has joined the exercises which involves 16 countries and 1,500 personnel.

The anti-mine and diving exercises is taking place under the umbrella of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), set up in 1988 with the participation of 21 countries.

India, which obtained observer status in WPNS in 1998, hopes to enhance its experience in dealing with issues like navigation safety, search and rescue and anti-pollution measures, sources familiar with WPNS said.

(For its part, India organises naval exercises off the Andaman islands once in two years with several regional navies, including Bangladesh.).

The exercises organised in Singapore was a first event for WPNS, which had earlier concentrated on holding seminars and workshops for naval officers.

Sources maintained that the Indian Navy would gain from the experience in the Malacca and Singapore Straits, an area through which much of India's merchant shipping takes place.

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Section  : International
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