Indian Navy Ships Satpura, Kadmatt on four-day visit to Japan

New Delhi, Oct 12: In pursuance of India’s Act East Policy, two Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt are on a 4-day visit to Sasebo in Japan from October 12-15. The visit aims to strengthen the long standing, mutually supportive and strong relationship between Japan and India, the Indian Navy said in a statement. This historic relationship spans across the entire spectrum of engagement between both countries – cultural, spiritual, economic and security. The visiting Indian Naval ships will engage with the JMSDF in formal calls, as also professional, social and sporting interactions. After completion of the harbour phase, the ships will take part in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the Murusame Class destroyer, JS Kirisame. Since the first ‘Navy to Navy Staff Talks’ between the two nations in November 2008, naval ties have reached new heights with bilateral and multilateral exercises and enhanced cooperation in information sharing, meteorology and oceanography, disaster management and military training, it added. The defence and security interaction between both countries has since expanded to encompass a Defence Policy Dialogue and a Maritime Affairs Dialogue. The erstwhile Japan – India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) led to Japan participating in the ‘MALABAR’ exercise (a tripartite naval exercise between India, the US and Japan) since 2014. JMSDF Ships Izumo and Sazanami participated in the recently concluded edition of ExMALABAR off Chennai. Both navies have participated in each other’s International Fleet Reviews (IFR) by deputing ships and high level delegations – while INS Sahyadri participated in the IFR at Yokosuka in October 2015, JS Matsuyuki participated in the IFR at Visakhapatnam in February 2016. The Indian Navy and JMSDF also have strong bilateral defence training cooperation, including at very senior levels. Both navies look forward to enhanced cooperation in the fields of military technology, white shipping, training, intelligence sharing, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and exchange of subject matter experts in various fields. UNI