Indian naval ships conducted a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the U.S. Navy’s USS Nimitzcarrier strike group near the Andaman and Nicobar islands as it is transiting the Indian Ocean.
The exercise comes amid a high alert by the Navy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) due to the standoff with China along the border in Ladakh.
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As part of this exercise, four frontline naval ships, Shivalik, Sahyadri, Kamorta and Rana including a stealth corvette, teamed up with carrier USS Nimitz and three other U.S. ships in the eastern Indian Ocean near the islands.
On June 27, JS Kashima and JSShimayuki from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force ( JMSDF) training squadron had conducted a PASSEX with INS Rana and INS Kulish in the Indian Ocean.
The Navy is keeping a close watch on the movement in the IOR of Chinese naval ships, whose presence has gone up considerably over the years in the name of antipiracy patrols. In 2017, China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
