Drill is part of proposed MoU on maritime security
The Indian Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard will hold a joint exercise off Chennai on April 5. Korean Coast Guard ship Badaro 3011, commanded by Superintendent Oh Taeog, will arrive at the Chennai port on Monday morning ahead of the exercise.
The joint exercise, named Sahyog - Hyeoblyeog 2018 is part of a proposed establishment of a MoU between the two Coast Guards to improve maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.
The MoU, which is currently in the draft stage, will be deliberated on by the two sides over the course of the next three days and a final agreement will be signed on board one of the Coast Guard ships after the completion of the joint exercise on April 5, Coast Guard Commander (Eastern Region), Inspector General Rajan Bagrotra told The Hindu.
Following the arrival of the Korean Coast Guard ship, the two sides will have a number of interactions, while Badaro’s crew will visit the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Coast Guard Air Station here.
“There will also be cross presentations, and we will be providing them our perception of the Indian Ocean region. Our staff will also visit their ship,” Inspector General Bagrotra said.
The joint exercise is one in a series of exercises being undertaken by the Indian Coast Guard with a number of countries. In 2016, a Korean ship came to India while in 2017, an Indian Coast Guard ship visited South Korea, to take part in joint exercises.
The exercise to be held on April 5 will see Indian Coast Guard ship Shaurya, and a few interceptor boats taking part.
The two sides will also try to have cross landing operations on board the ships mid-sea. The joint exercise will focus on jointly planning, training, and executing a series of well-developed anti-piracy scenarios and rescue operations. The Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rajendra Singh, and Commissioner General KCG Park Kyung Min of Korea will also be in Chennai to oversee the Joint exercise.