The Indian Navy participated in its maiden exercise with the Bahrain-based multilateral partnership Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) as an associate partner earlier this week. At the India-U.S. 2+2 in April this year, India had announced that it would join the CMF as an associate partner.
“INS Sunayana participated in the capacity building exercise Operation Southern Readiness conducted by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) at Seychelles from September 24 to 27,” the Navy said in a statement. “This is the maiden participation of an Indian Navy ship in a CMF exercise.”
As part of the interactive sessions attended by representatives of the participating countries, a training lecture on maritime domain awareness was conducted by the Indian Navy, the statement said. “A live demonstration on visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations was also conducted onboard HMS Montrose led by the Seychelles special forces with close support from the Indian naval team,” it added.
Senior officials from CMF member countries and Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan were present for the event, according to the statement. The joint training exercise was attended by representative delegations from the U.S., Italy, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and ship participation from the U.K., Spain and India.
The Indian Navy has participated in numerous multilateral engagements as part of India’s expanding military diplomacy, the latest of which is joining the CMF. In July, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru visited the headquarters of the CMF which marked the commencement of the Indian Navy’s “associate support” to the CMF.
It was reported that the Indian Navy Liaison Officer stationed at the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Bahrain will function as the point.
The CMF is a multinational naval alliance that works to advance security, stability, and prosperity throughout the roughly 3.2 million square miles of international waters that include some of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet.
The 34-nation grouping is commanded by a U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, who simultaneously
serves as the Commander of the U.S. U.S. Naval Forces and CENTCOM Fifth Fleet. At U.S., all three commands are housed together. Naval Support Activity Bahrain. In the immediate neighborhood, Pakistan is a full member of the CMF.
The CMF comprises three task forces: CTF 150 (maritime security and counterterrorism), CTF 151 (counter-piracy) and CTF 152 (Arabian Gulf security and cooperation) (Arabian Gulf security and cooperation).
