The navies of India and Singapore will hold annual exercises this year, starting on Saturday, in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The 2010 edition of the Singapore Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) will go on till April 16. Eight platforms — five Indian and three Singaporean — will take part in the exercise, besides fixed and rotary aircraft.
The cooperation was formalised in 1994, when the Singaporean naval ships started training in the anti-submarine warfare with the Indian Navy.
This year's exercise will be the 17th in the SIMBEX series. The units from the Indian Navy that will take part include INS Batti Malv (fast attack craft) and INS Mahish (landing ship tank) from the Andaman & Nicobar Command, INS Ranvir (destroyer), Jyoti (tanker) and a submarine from the Eastern Fleet. The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is sending RSS Intrepid (formidable class frigate) and RSS Victory (Victory class missile corvette). These ships will also call at Port Blair and Visakhapatnam.
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