Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar is on an official visit to Singapore from 2 to 4 May 2023.
Meanwhile , the CNS co-hosted the opening ceremony of the first ASEAN India Maritime Exercise (AIME) 2023 to be held at Naval Base Changi, Singapore on 02 May 2023. The ceremony was jointly inaugurated by Admiral R Hari Kumar and Republic of Singapore Navy Chief Sean Watt in the presence of senior dignitaries from ASEAN countries. This inaugural edition of AIME is being co-hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy . It was also attended by ships and naval officers from other ASEAN countries.
The harbor phase of the exercise will be conducted at Changi Naval Base from 2 to 4 May and the sea phase from 7 to 8 May 2023 in the South China Sea .
In addition to representing India and the Indian Navy during AIME 2023, Admiral R Hari Kumar will also attend the opening ceremony of the International Maritime Defense Exhibition IMDEX – 23 and address the Eighth International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) on the theme ‘Cooperation in the Future of Marine Environment’. ) , which is being organized in conjunction with the International Maritime Defense Exhibition 23.
The CNS will also meet the Defense Minister of Singapore and a delegation of Chiefs of Defense Forces (CDF), Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Chief of Naval Staff Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), AIME IMDEX and other participating countries in IMSC See you too. The Navy Chief will also interact with academicians in Singapore to discuss ‘ASEAN-India Maritime Connectivity Opportunities’ .
AIME aims to promote maritime cooperation and foster trust, friendship and confidence between the ASEAN and Indian Navies . The Port of Singapore phase from 2 to 4 May 2023 will see a series of professional and social interactions between the participating navies including crossdeck visits, subject-matter experts’ discussions (SMEEs) and planning meetings. The participating navies in the sea phase scheduled from 7 to 8 May 2023 in the South China Sea will provide an opportunity to develop closer ties in the coordination and execution of naval operations in the maritime domain.
India’s first indigenously built destroyers INS Delhi and INS Satpura indigenously built guided missile stealth frigates along with a P8I Maritime Patrol E aircraft will participate in the inaugural ASEAN India Maritime Exercise and IMDEX. The participating ships are part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and are commanded by Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, an officer of the Eastern Fleet. The presence of indigenously built ships of the Indian Navy at this multi – national event is an opportunity to showcase the shipbuilding capabilities of Indian shipyards .
ASEAN is at the core of India’s Indo Pacific policy, as expressed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi in his speech at the 2018 Sangri La Dialogue in Singapore. AIM (Act East) reinforces this belief and commitment of India to ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR). The Navy Chief’s visit will further cement the high level of bilateral defense ties with Singapore as well as India’s policy of ‘ASEAN Centrality’ in the region.
