NEW DELHI – The Indian Navy swiftly redeployed its naval ships, aircraft,submarines, and support units to the northern Arabian Sea, near Pakistan’sport city of Karachi, in an attempt to block the movement of Pakistanisubmarines in February 2019.
Amid the participation of Chinese and Pakistani warlike naval resources inthe joint maritime exercise “Sea Guardian 2020”, the Indian Navy hasdeployed its lone aircraft carrier of Russian origin, the Vikramaditya, tothe Arabian Sea – the northern Indian Ocean Region where the nine-day longexercise is underway.
Top officials of the naval headquarters were on board the aircraft carrierwhen it was deployed on the strategic mission, Indian news agency PTIreported, quoting military sources.
The two sides have been pursuing a number of training objectives, includingjoint patrol, air-defence, joint anti-submarine, maritime live-firing, andjoint marine training.
The Indian Navy has deployed the carrier, with MiG29K fighters on board,against the backdrop of tensions over Kashmir with Pakistan. However, theChinese side made it clear from the beginning of the plan that it hasnothing to do with the situation in the region and is not targeted at anythird party.
Nevertheless, the Pakistan Navy dropped a vision of the exercise and saidthat the drill will eventually become the basis for the “two navies to testand improve their technical and tactical capabilities, maintain regionalmarine security, learn from each other and enhance the level ofcooperation, and synergy”.
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Last February, the Indian Navy had swiftly redeployed its naval ships,aircraft, submarines, and support units to the northern Arabian Sea afterthe Pakistani Agosta-class submarine Saad vanished from Pakistan’s waters.
Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh claimed that the navy redeployedits assets after abandoning its largest exercise TROPEX and this offensivedeployment limited the options on land for Pakistan and deterred thePakistan Navy from adventurism.
The recent tension between India and Pakistan ignited after New Delhirevoked in August 2019 the seven decades old temporary special statusaccorded to its administered Jammu and Kashmir state and later bifurcatedit into two federally administered territories. Islamabad termed the moveas a violation of a bilateral treaty, the 1972 Simla Agreement, and the UNConvention, as well. – Sputnik
