India, Japan 3-day naval exercise JIMEX to begin from today in Arabian sea

The fourth edition of Japan Maritime bilateral exercise (JIMEX) will be conducted in the North Arabian Sea.

New Delhi: Indian and Japanese navies to begin their three-day-long maritime military exercise beginning from Saturday (September 26). The naval exercise will take place in the North Arabian Sea. This is the fourth edition of  Japan Maritime bilateral exercise (JIMEX).

The naval exercise will continue till September 28 and it is is being conducted in a `non-contact at-sea-only format`, in view of COVID-19 restrictions.

The exercise is taking place in the backdrop of growing concerns over China's military activity in the Indian Ocean Region as well as in the Indo-Pacific.

The officials said the fourth edition of the India-Japan maritime exercise JIMEX will feature a multitude of advanced exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations, in reflection of high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills.

JIMEX-20 will see some advanced level of operations and exercises which is indicative of the continued upswing in Indo-Japanese defence relations and continued efforts by both Governments to work closely for a more secure, open and inclusive global commons, in accordance with international regulations.

Notably, this will be the first military exercise after the two countries signed a landmark agreement on September 9 that will allow their militaries to access each other's bases for logistics support.

The JIMEX series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation. The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam coast.

JIMEX will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.

Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings, cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.