Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt participated in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Japanese Marine Self Defence Force (JMSDF) held at Sasebo, Japan. These ships are participating in the exercise in pursuance of India’s Act East Policy and demonstration of India’s commitment to peace and stability in Indo-Pacific Region. The visiting Indian Naval ships engaged with JMSDF in formal calls and also professional, social and sporting interactions.

Comment

The visit of these ships is part India’s initiatives to strengthen long standing, mutually supportive and strong relationship between Japan and India which spans across wide spectrum of cultural, spiritual, economic and security relations.

Background

Naval ties between India and Japan have reached new heights with bilateral and multilateral exercises since first ‘Navy to Navy Staff Talks’ between two nations in November 2008. Since then, naval ties have enhanced to cooperation in information sharing, meteorology and oceanography, disaster management and military training.
The defence and security interaction also expanded to encompass Defence Policy Dialogue and a Maritime Affairs Dialogue. Regular bilateral and multilateral maritime exercises are foundation for strong naval relations between both countries. The erstwhile Japan–India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) led to Japan participating in ‘MALABAR’ exercise (a tripartite naval exercise between India, US and Japan) since 2014.