New Delhi: India and Myanmar have added another naval engagement to their expanding maritime relationship, with INS Karmuk and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 51 making a port call at Yangon. The visit comes amid regular interactions between the two navies through exercises, coordinated patrols, training exchanges and port visits.
In a post on X , the Andaman and Nicobar Command said INS Karmuk and LCU 51 had made the port call at Yangon as part of India’s effort to strengthen maritime cooperation and mutual understanding with its neighbours. It added that such interactions contribute to maintaining a safe and secure maritime environment in the Indian Ocean region and support the Indian Navy’s vision of being the “preferred security partner”.
INS Karmuk is an indigenously built missile corvette based under the Andaman and Nicobar Command, while LCU 51 is the first vessel of the Navy’s Landing Craft Utility Mk IV class. Commissioned at Port Blair in 2017, LCU 51 is designed to support amphibious and beaching operations and can also be employed for maritime surveillance and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.
The Yangon visit fits into an established pattern of interaction between the two navies. The Ministry of Defence has identified defence cooperation meetings, staff talks, training exchanges, the India-Myanmar naval exercise, Indo-Myanmar coordinated patrols, port visits and hydrographic surveys among the regular mechanisms supporting bilateral maritime cooperation.
That engagement was visible in May during a visit to Myanmar by the-then Navy chief, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. As RNA Media reported, Adm Tripathi embarked on the Myanmar navy frigate UMS Kyan Sit Thar and held discussions on maritime security, interoperability and wider naval cooperation. During the same period, INS Sunayna, deployed as Indian Ocean Ship Sagar, entered Yangon Harbour for professional and cultural exchanges with the Myanmar navy.
The coordinated patrol mechanism has added an operational element to the relationship since 2013. Indian and Myanmar naval units have used the patrols to improve coordination against illegal fishing, drug trafficking, piracy and other unlawful activity around their maritime boundary in the Andaman Sea.
The Yangon port call comes alongside a wider push to sustain defence engagement with Myanmar across the services. India has used naval exercises, coordinated patrols, training exchanges and port visits to maintain maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, while Army level interaction has also resumed through bilateral training.
The fifth edition of the India-Myanmar Bilateral Army Exercise (Imbax) began at the Joint Training Node, Umroi, Meghalaya, on Tuesday. In a post on X, the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) said the 14-day exercise, being conducted from September 15 to 28, is aimed at improving interoperability and synergy for operations under a United Nations mandate.
ADGPI said the exercise would also allow the two armies to exchange operational experience and best practices while strengthening military-to-military cooperation. The Myanmar contingent will also be exposed to a range of indigenous weapons and equipment in use by the Indian Army during the exercise.