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This is the primary time a U.S. P-8A has bought entry to the islands underneath LEMOA
A U.S. Navy P-8A lengthy vary Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) landed at Port Blair within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands within the final week of September for refuelling underneath the bilateral logistics help settlement, two defence sources confirmed. This is the primary time a U.S. P-8 has bought entry to the islands for operational turnaround.
On Saturday, the second version of the bilateral naval train between India and Bangladesh “Exercise Bongosagar” started within the northern Bay of Bengal which will probably be adopted by a Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) for the following two days, the Navy stated.
“The P-8A was in Port Blair on September 25 for refuelling under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). The aircraft came from Japan and was at Port Blair for few hours,” one of many sources stated.
More workout routines
Another Passage Exercise (PASSEX) between Indian Navy ships and a U.S. aircraft provider transiting the area as in July is predicted to happen later this month, the supply added.
While P-8s of India and the U.S. had exercised collectively prior to now, practised finding submarines collectively and the LEMOA has been operational for few years now, that is the primary time the U.S. bought entry to A&N underneath LEMOA. Several international locations have expressed curiosity in having access to the strategically positioned A&N islands that are near the Strait of Malacca and world sea lanes of communication.
In July, frontline warships of the Indian Navy carried out a PASSEX with the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz provider strike group close to the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) islands because it was transiting the Indian Ocean. The USS Nimitz was coming back from the South China Sea by way of the Malacca Strait the place it undertook freedom of navigation operations.
There has been a pointy enhance in India’s maritime interactions with the Quad international locations on a bilateral foundation centred round info sharing for improved Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) within the Indian Ocean Region and Indo-Pacific. India has logistics agreements with all three Quad international locations — Australia, Japan and the U.S. India has additionally signed maritime info sharing agreements with Australia and Japan and the same settlement is within the works with the U.S.
Along with the LEMOA, India has signed three of the 4 foundational agreements with the U.S., the others being the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) signed a very long time in the past. An extension to the GSOMIA, the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), was signed at the final 2+2 dialogue.
With Bangladesh
Ex Bongosagar, whose first version was held in 2019, is aimed at creating inter-operability and joint operational expertise by way of conduct of a large spectrum of maritime workout routines and operations, the Navy stated in a press release. “In this edition of Ex Bongosagar, ships from both navies will participate in surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations,” the Navy stated.
The train will probably be adopted by the third version CORPAT in Northern Bay of Bengal from October 4-5, whereby Indian and Bangladeshi models will undertake joint patrolling alongside the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
India has deployed anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan and guided missile corvette INS Khukri for the train, whereas Bangladesh has deployed guided-missile frigate BNS Abu Bakr and guided-missile corvette, BNS Prottoy. In addition to ships, MPA from each navies and integral helicopters would even be collaborating within the train.
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