James Kon
Indian Naval Ships (INS) Shivalik and INS Kadmatt arrived in Brunei Darussalam yesterday for joint exercises with the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN).
The INS Shivalik commissioned in 2010, is the first Stealth warship built by India. It is armed with Klub and the Brahmos Supersonic anti ship missiles, Shtil and the Barak Anti-Aircraft missiles, 90R anti-submarine missiles and DTA-53 Torpedoes.
The ship also carries two helicopters for expanded combat capabilities spanning from sub surface, surface and air domains.
Meanwhile INS Kadmatt, commissioned in 2016 is an anti-submarine warfare corvette ship equipped with a number of noise reduction features and an array of aerial cum underwater sensors, electronic warfare systems and KAvach Decoy System along with a wide range of weapons including a 76-millimetre main gun, Barak 1 missile systems, torpedoes and rocket launchers.
The ships will stay in the country until August 12. INS Shivalik is commanded by Captain Kapil Mehta and Commander RK Maharana is the Commanding Officer of INS Kadmatt.
The Indian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Ajaneesh Kumar welcomed the vessels in a port ceremony that followed COVID-19 protocols.
The high commissioner said the two ships visiting Brunei just a few days before India commemorates 75 years of her independence on August 15 and at the time when the
Sultanate is celebrating the 75th birthday of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, aptly demonstrated the importance India attaches to its bilateral engagement with Brunei.
“The visit will contribute to further bolstering of our strong bonds of friendship,” he said.
He also expressed, “We greatly appreciate the government of His Majesty for consenting to receive the INS Ships for Port Call, lending support and timely clearance for berthing of the two ships at Muara Port.
“We also greatly appreciate the effective and thoughtful measures taken by the Government of His Majesty and their timely implementation to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in Brunei,” he said, adding that the visit “will be contactless”.
The high commissioner said, “The crew will be on their own ships. There will be no human-to-human contact at all. Its all done through signals, messages, communication so its contactless.”
He said the commanding officers will have a virtual call to senior officers of RBN and other components of the programme which include virtual interaction, harbour drills, passage and communication exercises.
The high commissioner said the defence cooperation between Brunei Darussalam and India has been strengthening from year to year.
“We have just renewed the memorandum of understanding on defence collaboration for a period of five years, which was initially signed in 2016.
“We are also in new areas of cooperation. In 2019, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) commander was in India and visited our training ground and institutions, including the jungle warfare school in the northern part of India.
“We are looking at training some Brunei defence personnel in that institution, so the relationship is very solid.”
