India Myanmar Navy exercise begins

Visakhapatnam: The Union of Myanmar Navy Ships UMS King Sin Phyu Shin (Frigate) and UMS Inlay (Off-shore Patrol Vessel) arrived here on Sunday to participate in the maiden bilateral Indian and Myanmar Navy Exercise-2018 (IMNEX-18) being held off the East Coast of India.

According to Naval Command sources, the exercise is being conducted in two phases, from March 25 to 30 in the harbour and the from March 31 to April 3 in the sea.

The exercise is aimed at strengthening professional interaction, both in harbour and at sea and would be a start for attaining interoperability between the two navies.  The Myanmar Navy also participated in the recently concluded Milan-18 maritime exercise at Port Blair. 

The Indian Navy would be represented by INS Sahyadri, an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Stealth Frigate, INS Kamorta, an ASW Stealth Corvette, one Chetak helicopter, two Hawk Advance Jet Trainer Aircrafts and a submarine.   

The harbour phase encompasses briefings, practical demonstrations, professional discussions, social interactions, cross deck visits and sports fixtures. The sea phase will include complex operations, including fleet manoeuvres, gun firings as well as coordinated anti-submarine exercises.