With increasing focus on the Pacific part of the Indo-Pacific region, two frontline Indian naval warships under the Eastern Naval Command, INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata made port call at Port Moresby as part of ongoing initiatives for enhancing maritime partnership and cooperation with Papua New Guinea. At the same time, two warships from the Western Naval Command are at Oman — INS Visakhapatnam at Muscat and INS Trikand at Duqm.
“During the port call, the crew from the two ships will engage with personnel from PNG Defence Forces in a wide range of activities including professional interactions, cultural exchanges, Yoga sessions and ship visits. The port call is aimed at strengthening ties between India and Papua New Guinea in the maritime domain,” the Navy said in a statement. The ships arrived on Wednesday.
Last month, India and France agreed to “expand cooperation” in the Pacific. The India-France joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris last month had noted both countries are resident powers and key partners with vital stakes in the Indo-Pacific. They announced the adoption of a road map for the Indo-Pacific and agreed to expand cooperation in the Pacific while also working on finalising an Indo-French development fund for third countries for joint financing of sustainable development projects in the region.
INS Sahyadri is the third ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-17 class multirole stealth frigates and is commanded by Capt. Rajan Kapoor while INS Kolkata is the first ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-15A class destroyers and is commanded by Capt. Sharad Sinsunwal. Both the ships have been built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai.
In addition to the professional interactions aimed at enhancing cooperation, strengthening ties and sharing of best practices undertaken with Royal Navy of Oman on various elements of maritime operations, the two warships took part in social interactions, the Navy said. “Indian Navy Band had the local populace spellbound with melodious and mesmerising tunes at Avenues Mall, Boshar. Sporting and cultural interactions were also conducted with Royal Navy of Oman personnel,” it said in a statement.
School children visited INS Visakhapatnam and were taken around the ship and given an overview of the capabilities of the indigenously designed and constructed warship, it added.
Modi’s assurance
In May, Mr. Modi visited Papua New Guinea and attended the 3rd summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) where he spoke in favour of free and open Indo-Pacific region and focused on India’s commitment to assist the development goals of the member-countries of FIPIC stating that New Delhi would continue to help the Pacific island states in “every possible” way.
The Pacific Island nations have been in focus of late as China signed last year a security agreement with the Solomon Islands while the U.S. and Papua New Guinea concluded a defence partnership agreement.
The FIPIC consists of Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
