India and Japan begin joint military exercise in Visakhapatnam

The 3rd edition of Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) commenced at Visakhapatnam on Sunday following the arrival of Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) ships Kaga and Inazuma in the Andhra Pradesh port city, the Indian Navy said.

The exercise to be held till October 15 aims to "enhance interoperability, improve understanding and imbibe the best practices" followed by the two forces.

Kaga is an Izumo-class helicopter destroyer while Inazuma is a guided missile destroyer. These are taking part in the exercise under the command of Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukada, Commander, Escort Flotilla-4.

The Indian Navy is represented by three indigenously designed and built warships and a fleet tanker.

The ships are multipurpose stealth frigate INS Satpura, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt, missile corvette and fleet tanker INS Shakti, an official release said.

In addition, one submarine, one P8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft and a number of integral helicopters will also participate.

The Indian ships will operate under the command of Rear Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet.

The drill will include a 'harbour phase' and a 'sea phase' of four days each. The harbour phase of the exercise scheduled from October 7 to October 10, will include professional and social interactions between ships' crews, sports fixtures and operational planning for the sea phase.

"The sea phase will include anti-submarine warfare exercises, VBSS (Visit, Board, Search and Seizure) drills, gun firings, cross-deck helo operations and coordinated operations in anti-submarine/anti-air threat scenarios," the release said.

The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in December 2013 off Chennai coast. The JMSDF is a regular participant in the Malabar series of exercises between Indian and US navies.

The India and Japanese navies have been working in close coordination in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden for the past few years.

(With inputs from agencies.)