The Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy will conduct the 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) from 17 to 18 December 2020.
Key Points
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kulish, an indigenously built missile corvette, and P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) will participate with their Indonesian Naval counterparts.
Under the Indian Government’s vision of SAGAR, the Indian Navy is organizing Coordinated Patrols and Multi-lateral exercises with countries in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Navies of India and Indonesia have been carrying out CORPAT exercise along their International Maritime Boundary Line since 2002.
The Exercise is expected to focus on preventing issues like drug trafficking, Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU), maritime terrorism, fishing, among others.
SAGAR Mission (Security and Growth for All in the Region)
In the year 2015, India released a policy for maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region. The aim of the launch of SAGAR was to increase maritime cooperation, increase trust and transparency; sensitivity to each other`s interests; peaceful resolution of maritime issues, and respect for international maritime rules and norms by all countries.
As part of the SAGAR mission, INS Kesari carried 600 tons of food items, essential medicines, and two medical assistance teams to the countries in the southern Indian Ocean namely- Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Comoros.
In August 2020, India provided support to Mauritius through the C-17 Globemaster of the Indian Air Force.
As a part of SAGAR II, INS Airavat carried 100 Tonnes of food aid for Sudan. In the SAGAR II initiative, INS Airavat will carry food aid to Eritrea, South Sudan, and Djibouti.
INS Kulish
INS Kulish is a Kora-class small warship (corvette) that is presently in service with the Indian Navy. It was launched in the year 1997 and was commissioned on 20 August 2001.
Kulish is one of the four Kora-class corvettes designed under Project25A. INS Kulish is armed with Strela-2 anti-air missiles and the P-15 Termit anti-ship missiles.
