India, Oz to hold maritime exercise

The navies of India and Australia will hold a bilateral maritime exercise, AUSINDEX-17, at Freemantle in Australia.

In pursuance of India’s Act East policy, the Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, is on an overseas deployment to the South East Asia and Southern Indian Ocean.

Indian naval ships Jyoti, Shivalik and Kamorta are on a port visit to Freemantle, Australia, from June 13 to 17. Vice Admiral H C S Bisht, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, is also visiting Freemantle during the period.

During the stay in harbour, various activities such as official calls, formal reception on board ships, guided tours for Indian naval personnel and professional interaction between naval personnel of both the nations have been planned.

AUSINDEX-17, the bilateral maritime exercise between the two navies, would also be held as part of the visit.
This would be the second edition of the exercise with the maiden edition having been conducted at Visakhapatnam in 2015.

The exercises aim to increase interoperability and are in consonance with the growing cooperation between the two countries.