The Hindu Business Line : Navy for expanding ties with Gulf States

THE Indian Navy is looking to boost cooperation with its counterparts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and some other Gulf states with more joint naval exercises and training of naval personnel among several activities in the offing, according to a senior Indian Navy official.

Rear Admiral Pratap Singh Byce, AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding, Western Command, of the Indian Navy, is in Abu Dhabi, leading four Indian Navy ships currently calling at Port Zayed.He told a press conference on board the INS Mumbai on Sunday night that the time is ripe to increase ties with the UAE and other friendly countries in the Gulf region.

"There is a need to work together and intensify navy-to-navy co-operation between the India and these countries. Our goodwill visit to the UAE is part of these efforts. India and the UAE's defence relations are based on one of mutual trust and confidence," he added.

Rear Admiral Byce, who is holding talks with the Chief of the UAE Navy and other senior naval officers here, said that the focus of the discussions would be on more joint naval exercises in the future, training of UAE naval officers and sailors, study of the operation works of ships and sharing of expertise in areas such as hydrograph surveys.

India has built a very large infrastructure for training naval officers and sailors in all aspects of maritime warfare and the Indian Navy would offer its expertise to the UAE Navy in this context, the official said. The Indian experience with building and maintenance of ships, as well as their capabilities in the field of hydrograph surveys would be discussed under an ongoing exchange programme that could see more cooperation based on mutual interest, he said.

"The possibility of other joint ventures will also be taken up in due course," the official said. Rear Admiral Byce said that India viewed the Gulf as a very important region and of great significance to the sub-continent and the world.

"We believe that we have to share the responsibility of ensuring safety of international trade," he said.

He indicated that as part of India's non-aligned policy, it would be open to cooperation with all friendly countries and its visit to Banderabbas port, Iran, during the current routine deployment, was in this context.

In reply to a query, the Indian Navy official said that Indian women officers and sailors are currently not posted on ships due to technical reasons as Indian naval ships were not designed to accommodate women's requirements. However, ships that would be designed in the future could see the induction of women members of the Indian Navy on ships, he said.

The Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Mr Sudhir Vyas, said that the visit by the Indian naval ships was part of a series of goodwill visits by Indian ships in the last few years.

"The navy plays a strong diplomatic role through such interactive visits that help reinforce ties. India and the UAE share the same interests in protecting the region and we anticipate that with the joint cooperation accord signed last year, there will be more intensified cooperation in the future," he said.

The Indian Navy fleet of six ships is currently visiting some Gulf ports including the UAE, Bahrain, Muscat and Banderabbas in Iran.

Four of the ships at Mina Zayed include the Navy's largest warship INS Mumbai, which has been built at India's Mazagaon docks.

Two other ships — the tanker INS Aditya and the warship INS Pralaya — are also indigenously built. The ships will be involved in several activities in Abu Dhabi during their stay at Port Zayed till September 22.