India, RI begin joint naval patrols

Agencies, New Delhi/Jakarta

India and Indonesia have begun joint naval patrols off the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal to check poaching, smuggling and drug trafficking, the defense ministry said here Wednesday.

The first of the joint patrols commenced Monday under an agreement between the two navies signed in January last year, a statement said.

"It will also serve the valuable purpose of enhancing mutual understanding and co-operation between the navies of two neighboring countries of the region," it said.

The patrol will be conducted by a warship and a patrol aircraft from each navy, an Indian navy spokesman said.

The Indian navy will use a Trinkat class patrol vessel and Dornier aircraft, while a Parchim-I class ship and a Nomad aircraft will make up the Indonesian patrol, he said.

The patrol will be led by the commander-in-chief of India's Tri-Service Command headquartered in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and the commander of Western Fleet Command of the Indonesian Navy, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Navy spokesman Commodore Sugeng Waluyo called the arrangement a collaborative venture between the navies of the two countries to survey the sea in the border areas, especially around the Andaman and Rondo islands.

Sugeng said that the Indonesian Navy had sent officers from its hydrography department to participate in the one-month joint survey.

"Neither Indonesia nor India have never surveyed the waters between these two islands ... The results of this project will be used as a reference for safe navigation," Sugeng told The Jakarta Post.

India is also providing an escort for ships passing through the Indian Ocean and bound for Southeast Asia through the Malacca Straits, between Malaysia and Indonesia.

According to Indian experts, the Malacca Straits is the second busiest sea lane in the world and the huge amount of oil passing through it from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia and Japan makes it highly vulnerable to terrorist threats.

The escort service began in April after an agreement between the Indian and U.S. navies, reached after several rounds of consultations with Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and other nearby countries, the spokesman said.

Under the agreement, the escort duties are divided between the Indian and U.S. navies for a period of six months each.