[CA] India's Act East Policy: INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt

# In pursuant of the India’s ‘Act East Policy’, two Indian Naval Ships proceeded on deployment to East and South-East Asia this year.

·       INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt departed Visakhapatnam to visit 12 ports in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Brunei and Russia.

·       The two ships will be deployed for more than 3 months away from home port.

·       The ships will participate in the International Fleet Review hosted by the Association of South East Asian Countries (ASEAN) at Thailand.

·       They will visit Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia and Brunei to commemorate the 25th anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue.

·       The ships will also participate in the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise at Malaysia.

·       At Russia, the ships will participate in the annual India-Russia bilateral exercise INDRA. This year, for the first time, Ex-INDRA will witness the joint participation of Army, Navy and Air Force of both countries, thus, a major milestone in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

·       INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt are both indigenously built warships.

·       INS Satpura, synonymous with the formidable mountain range in Central India, is a multi-role stealth frigate and is commanded by Captain Rahul Shankar.

·       INS Kadmatt, named after an island in the beautiful Lakshadweep chain, is an Anti-Submarine Corvette and is commanded by Commander Nithin Cariappa.