Sea Platforms
Indian stealth frigate visits Vietnam in bid to improve interoperability
Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - IHS Jane's Navy International
06 August 2014
Main gun of a Shivalik-class frigate INS Sahyadri. Sister ship INS Shivalik is in Vietnam to enhance interoperability between the navies of India and Vietnam. Source: IHS/Ridzwan Rahmat
The Indian Navy's Shivalik (Project 17)-class guided missile frigate INS
Shivalik has arrived in Hai Phong, Vietnam, in a bid to improve working relationship and operational procedures between navies of the two countries.
An official statement released by the Indian Navy on 5 August described the port call as a visit that not only strengthens bilateral ties, but one that enhances interoperability between the two nations' navies as well. The release also gave details on the various activities that have been planned for the ship and its personnel during the three-day stay.
"On departure, the ship will exercise with Vietnamese naval ships for improving interoperability in communication, search-and-rescue procedures, and other areas," said the Indian Navy. No details on which naval ships
Shivalik will be interacting with were given.
The vessel was earlier with two other Indian Navy vessels, the Rajput-class guided-missile destroyer INS
Ranvijay and Deepak-class replenishment tanker INS
Shakti , in the Indo-Russian bilateral naval exercise 'Indra 2014'. The vessels also participated in the trilateral naval exercise 'Malabar 2014', which involved the US Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force.
Shivalik is a 4,600-tonne vessel belonging to a class of three warships that were commissioned between 2010 and 2012. The Shivalik-class incorporates reduced radar cross-section and IR features into its superstructure and touted as the Indian Navy's "multi-purpose command-and-control platform capable of operating in a network-centric multi-threat environment".
At 'RIMPAC 2014', Shivalik's sister ship INS
Sahyadri 's executive officer Lieutenant Commander Prasanna K Madhyastha told
IHS Jane's that the Indian Navy is keen on exposing its officers to NATO-compliant procedures and international codes on operating naval vessels.
Shivalik 's planned exercises with the People's Army of Vietnam Navy could be one of the Indian Navy's efforts to pursue this objective.
COMMENT
The Indian Navy's latest bid to enhance working relations with the Vietnamese could be a manifestation of India's 'necklace of diamonds' approach - a strategy in which it forges security and defence alliances with various Asian countries, especially ones with uneasy relationships with Beijing, to counter China's increasingly assertive stance in projecting its naval capabilities.
The latest port call follows several other signs of an improving relationship between the two countries. In December 2013, India announced that it will train 500 Vietnamese submariners to improve the PAVN's underwater warfare capabilities as part of the expanded strategic and defence ties between the two countries.
Related article: RIMPAC 2014: Indian Navy puts stealth frigate through paces at RIMPAC debut
