New Delhi: The 28th edition of Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) was conducted from September 2 to 4.
The Indian Navy was represented by Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvijay with a ship-borne helicopter, ASW Corvette INS Kiltan and Guided Missile Corvette INS Kora and a P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Participants from the RSN included a Formidable Class Frigate, RSS Steadfast, embarked with an S-70B naval helicopter, a Victory Class Missile Corvette, RSS Vigour, an Archer Class Submarine and a Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Four F-16 fighter aircraft of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), too, participated in the exercise during the Air Defence Drills.
Initiated in 1994, SIMBEX is the Indian Navy’s longest uninterrupted bilateral maritime exercise with any foreign navy. This year’s edition of SIMBEX is also a special occasion as it takes place during the ongoing celebrations of the 75th year of India’s independence. "The success of SIMBEX-2021 is yet another demonstration of the mutual resolve on both sides to strengthen the bilateral partnership further in the years ahead," the Indian Navy stated.
Owing to the ongoing pandemic-related constraints, this year’s SIMBEX was planned without any physical interactions as an ‘at-sea only’ exercise hosted by the RSN in the southern fringes of the South China Sea.
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India-Singapore Defence relations remain a significant aspect of the overall bilateral relationship and cover a very wide spectrum of collaboration from conventional military-to-military exchanges to HADR and cyber security. Both navies have a representation in each other’s Maritime Information Fusion Centres and have also recently signed an agreement on mutual submarine rescue support and coordination.
