The Silver Jubilee Commemoration Ceremony to mark the 25th edition of SIMBEX, “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise”, was held onboard INS Sahyadri at Visakhapatnam on 19 November, 2018.

The ceremony was attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Navy Republic of Singapore Rear Admiral Lew Chuen Hong, FOC-in-CENC Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, flag officers, commanding officers and personnel from participating ships.

Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet, welcomed the dignitaries to the historic occasion to commemorate the 25th edition of the bilateral exercise between the two navies of India and Republic of Singapore.

Speaking on the occasion, Adm Sunil Lanba highlighted, “SIMBEX is the longest un-interrupted bilateral maritime exercise that India has had with any navy. The importance of this achievement was also flagged by the Hon’ble Prime Minister at the Shangri La Dialogue in June this year. He also reiterated that naval cooperation through SIMBEX underscores the shared commitment of both nations to security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the global commons. The 25th edition of SIMBEX is the largest in terms of complexity, weapon firings and maritime geography.”

He concluded by reminding the audience the core motto of the Republic of Singapore Navy, ‘Beyond Horizon’, and that of the Indian Navy, ‘Sam No Varunah’, which translates to ‘May the Ocean Gods be Auspicious unto us’. As the Silver Jubilee of the maritime bilateral exercises progressed, he wished SIMBEX to go beyond horizons and in the process let the ocean gods be auspicious unto both the navies.

Addressing the gathering, Adm Lew Chuen Hong referred to the historic maritime links through maritime trade of both countries dating back to 3rd and 4th century. He said Singapore and India were like-minded countries sharing similar outlook towards preserving freedom of the seas following rules and norms laid down in UNCLOS.

He highlighted the special relations that both navies have through substantive interactions. Cornerstone for Navy-Navy relations is SIMBEX, which started as a basic anti-submarine exercise in 1994 as ‘Lion King’, has grown from strength to strength. The 25th edition of SIMBEX was the largest ever participation by the Singapore Navy in any bilateral exercise, thus far.

To mark the historic occasion and as a symbol of growing trust and comfort levels between the two navies, a special logo was also released. The occasion was utilised for simultaneous release of Special Postal Cover and Singaporean Postage Stamp on SIMBEX.

(The writer is a Delhi-based independent contributor to print and online publications)