ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise-2023 begins at Singapore

The opening ceremony of the inaugural ASEAN India Maritime Exercise AIME-23 was held at Changi Naval Base, Singapore on 02 May 2023. The ceremony was jointly inaugurated by Admiral R Hari Kumar, the CNS, Indian Navy and Rear Admiral Sean Wat, Chief of Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy in the presence of senior dignitaries from other ASEAN nations. This inaugural edition of AIME is being co-hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy and Indian Navy; and will witness participation of ships and personnel from other ASEAN countries. AIME-23 scheduled from 02 to 08 May 2023 is aimed at promoting Maritime Cooperation and enhancing trust, friendship and confidence amongst ASEAN and Indian Navies. The exercise will be conducted in two phases. The Harbour Phase at Singapore from 02 to 04 May 2023 will witness a range of professional and social interactions between the participating navies which includes cross deck visits, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges SMEE and planning meetings, etc. Later on, the Sea Phase scheduled from 07 to 08 May 2023 in the South China Sea will provide an opportunity for the participating navies to develop closer links in the coordination and execution of operations in the maritime domain. ASEAN is at the core of India's Indo-Pacific Policy as was enunciated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi in his speech at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore in 2018. AIME reinforces this belief and India's commitment to 'Act East' in its endeavour to ensure 'Security and Growth for all in the Region SAGAR India's first indigenously-built destroyer, INS Delhi and INS Satpura, an Indigenously-built guided missile stealth frigate along with a P81 Maritime Patrol aircraft will participate in the Inaugural ASEAN India Maritime Exercise. The participating ships form a part of Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and operate under the command of Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.