Defence: Indian, Sri Lankan navies conclude bilateral exercise
New Delhi: Six ships from the Indian Navy’s First Training Squadron, which had anchored at Colombo and Trincomalee ports last week for a bilateral exercise with their Sri Lankan counterparts, sailed back to India on Thursday.
In a tweet, the Sri Lanka Navy stated, “Concluding successful bilateral naval exercise with #srilanka_navy, First Training Squadron (1TS) of the Indian Navy departed the Island on 27 & 28th Oct.”
Capt. Aftab Ahmed Khan, Senior Officer of the 1TS, was in command of these ships. The visit was significant in bilateral relations because it is for the first time that such a big number of Indian Navy ships had visited Sri Lanka.
The tour had brought together 75 officers, 153 officer cadets, 10 NCC cadets, and 530 sailors. Several professional, training, cultural, and sporting exchanges between the ship’s crew and Sri Lanka Navy personnel were in practice during their stay.
The ships’ visit coincided with that of a four-day visit of Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla, PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command (SNC), which also concluded on Thursday.
The Indian Navy’s famed is home to the 1TS, comprising six ships, including two sail ships. Earlier, it had visited Sri Lanka in 2015.
The SNC provides a good deal of naval training to commanders and sailors, including those from friendly foreign countries. In the last four decades, the Indian Navy has trained over 11,000 international trainees from over 40 countries, making it one of the best training places in the world.
(Venkatesh Iyer)
