Two Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) ships under the command of Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukada arrived at Visakhapatnam on 7 October to participate in the third edition of Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX). The last edition was conducted five years ago in December 2018.

JS Kaga, an Izumo-class helicopter destroyer, and JS Inazuma, a guided-missile destroyer, will participate in the JIMEX with the ships of Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy from 7 to 15 October.

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The Indian Navy will be represented by three indigenous warships and a fleet tanker.

The ships participating are multipurpose stealth frigate INS Satpura, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt, a missile corvette and fleet tanker INS Shakti.

In addition, one submarine, P8I long range maritime patrol aircraft and a number of integral helicopters would also be participating in the exercise.

The Indian ships participating would be under the command of Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet.

JIMEX-18 is aimed to enhance interoperability, improve understanding and imbibe the best practices of each other.

It will comprise a Harbour Phase and a Sea Phase of four days each.

The Harbour Phase will include professional and social interactions between ship’s crews, sports fixtures and operational planning for the Sea Phase.

The Sea Phase would include Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercises, VBSS (Visit, Board, Search and Seizure) Drills, Gun Firings, Cross Deck Helo Operations and coordinated operations in Anti-Submarine/ Anti-Air threat scenarios.

The conduct of JIMEX-18 after five years is indicative of an upswing in the Indo-Japanese defence relations and the continued efforts of both governments to work closely to enhance safety and security of the global commons in keeping with ‘rule based order’.

The Japanese navy is a regular participant in Malabar series of exercises between Indian and US navies including the recently concluded MALABAR 18 off Guam (along with Indian and US Navy units) in the Pacific Ocean in Jun and biennial multilateral exercise RIMPAC-18 off Hawaii, USA.