Shanghai, Nov 10: Three Indian naval ships led by destroyer, INS Ranjit docked here in the east Chinese port city today to take part in the first-ever India-China joint naval exercise and open a new chapter in bilateral military-to-military exchanges.
Apart from INS Ranjit, a guided-missile destroyer, the two other ships are the INS Kulish, a guided-missile corvette, and INS Jyoti, a replenishment tanker, all from the eastern naval command. The Indian navy would be represented by Flag Officer Commanding (FOC-in-C) of the eastern command, Vice Admiral O P Bansal. The first India-China naval exercises are scheduled to take place off the Shanghai coast on November 14, official sources said here in the gleaming east Chinese port city, which is also china's commercial capital.


Apart from enhancing mutual trust and confidence, the exercises are also aimed at ensuring the safety of maritime trade and improving coordination in search and rescue at sea, he said.


He also noted that the search and rescue drill assumes added significance as navigation in the south China sea and the neighbouring Malacca straits has been plagued by sea piracy, a serious issue confronting commercial liners. Bureau Report