Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian naval warship KRI Raden Eddy (RE) Martadinata-331 has sailed to India to take part in a joint Multilateral Naval Exercise dubbed Milan-2022.
The exercise will be held in Visakhapatnam waters in the coastal Indian state of Andhra Pradesh from February 26 to March 4, 2022.
KRI R.E. Martadinata-331 is scheduled to arrive in India on February 25, 2022, Commander of the Escort Ship Unit Command Fleet (Dansatkor Koarmada) I Marine Colonel Wawan Trisatya said in a release issued here on Thursday.
Colonel Trisatya, who will also serve as the Commander of the Task Force (Dansatgas) for the joint exercise, said that Milan-2022 is the largest maritime exercise organized by the Indian Navy every two years.
"This year's exercise will involve more than 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, and Japan," he informed.
Participation in the joint exercise is part of the strategic policy of Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff (Kasal) Admiral Yudo Margono to strengthen Indonesia's military diplomacy in the region, he said.
The Multilateral Naval Exercise has been held by the Indian Navy since 1995, Trisatya informed. It has been routinely held every two years since then, except in 2001, 2005, 2016, and 2020, he added.
The joint exercise was not held in 2001 and 2006 because the schedule coincided with the implementation of another exercise, namely the International Fleet Review (IFR), he said.
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The Milan Multilateral Naval Exercises in 2005 and 2006 were also not held due to the Tsunami disaster of 2004, he added.
The joint exercise for 2020 had to be postponed until this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he explained.
Indonesia is one of the four countries that have participated in the joint exercise since 1995, Trisatya said. The other three countries are Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, he added.
The Indian Navy told local media that this year's activities will not only focus on joint exercises at sea, but also conferences and panel discussions on current security issues.
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