As part of passage naval exercises with southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, the Indian Navy despatched two of its Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Singapore on Monday. The aircraft, which will operate from Singapore till June 18, will fly over the south China sea in a “coordinated patrol” with four Indian Navy ships, naval sources said on Monday. The despatch of the two Dornier aircraft is intended to demonstrate the “reach” of the Indian Navy as part of the exercises.
The four Indian Navy ships had reached the Indonesian capital Jakarta on May 25 as part of the naval exercises with the Indonesian Navy and the Singapore Navy. The Indian ships will also be making port calls at ports in Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
The Indian “union territory” of the Andaman and Nicobar islands is located not far from the southeast Asian mainland.