India and Republic of Singapore started their ongoing bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX-17 with an opening ceremony in Singapore, on May 18.
SIMBEX (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises) first started in 1994 and this year’s edition of the exercise, being held in the South China Sea, is the 24th in the series.
The scope of the current exercise includes professional interactions during the harbor phase scheduled from May 18 to 20 and a range of operational activities at sea during the sea phase to be held from May 21 to 24 May.
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW), integrated operations with surface, air and sub-surface forces, air defense and surface encounter exercises will be the focus of this year’s SIMBEX.
The Indian Navy will be participating with INS Shivalik, Sahyadri, Jyoti and Kamorta and one P8-I maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. While INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta are at Singapore since May 12, INS Shivalik and INS Jyoti would be joining directly for the sea phase of the exercise.
The Singapore Navy is represented by RSN ships Supreme, Formidable and Victory and maritime patrol aircraft Fokker F50 in addition to the RSAF F-16 aircraft.