Indian warships visit Vietnam en route to Guam and exercise Malabar

Three Indian Navy ships from the Eastern Naval Command arrived in Danang, Vietnam, on May 21 for a four day visit.

The task group composed of a frigate, corvette and a tanker are en route to Guam where they are to take part in the Indo-US naval exercise Malabar alongside ships from the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF).

During their time in Vietnam, personnel from the navies of India and Vietnam will take part in professional engagements. Guided tours for Indian naval personnel, sports events and a band concert by Indian Navy band are also planned.

Following the port visit, Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples’ Navy are scheduled to take in a passing exercise.

Prior to arriving in Vietnam, the Indian Navy task group visited Singapore on May 6 and Malaysia and Thailand on May 13.

Exercise Malabar is a high-end war fighting exercise which began in 1992 between the US and India. JMSDF became a regular participant in the exercise in 2015. The exercise was hosted by Japan in 2016 and India in 2017. The 2018 edition is taking place in waters off the US island territory Guam in Micronesia.

Corvette INS Kamorta and Deepak-class fleet tanker INS Shakti will only be taking part in exercise Malabar while the Shivalik-class frigate Sahyadri (F49) is also set to join the major international maritime exercise RIMPAC.