India and South Korea held their first-ever bilateral naval exercise on Oct. 13 in Busan.
The Indian guided missile stealth frigate INS Sahyadri made a port call at the Busan Naval Base as part of its ongoing operational deployment to the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.
The visit coincided with the maiden India-Republic of Korea Navy Bilateral Exercise.
The Indian Embassy in Seoul said that INS Sahyadri is an indigenously designed and constructed Shivalik-class frigate, commissioned in 2012.
Based in Visakhapatnam under India's Eastern Fleet, the ship has participated in several bilateral and multilateral exercises and operational deployments.
INS Sahyadri’s crew participated in the harbor and sea phases of the exercise in Busan, which featured cross-deck visits, training exchanges, sports events and joint drills with the frigate ROKS Gyeongnam.
The exercise aimed to strengthen maritime cooperation through joint drills between INS Sahyadri and ROKS Gyeongnam, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the India–Korea special strategic partnership.
“With the ever-increasing significance of the Indo-Pacific in the geopolitical seascape, both nations have increasingly recognised the importance of building partnerships based on mutual interests,” the Indian Embassy said in a statement.
“INS Sahyadri’s ongoing operational deployment to the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific underscores India’s stature as a responsible maritime stakeholder and preferred security partner,” the statement underlined.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
