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In keeping with the vision of
building bridges of friendship and enhancing interoperability,
ships of the IN regularly exercise with ships of friendly
navies. The scope and content of these exercises is continually
assessed to keep up with the demands of maritime security. In
addition, Indian Naval ships visiting foreign countries during
overseas deployments carry out Passage Exercises (PASSEX) with
naval ships of the host countries. Cooperative mechanisms for
the speedy, effective and humane application of maritime power
for regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief
operations form an important aspect of this ‘Constructive
Engagement’. Additionally, Indian Navy engages countries of the
Indian Ocean Region to build capacity and augment capability
through exercises, training, cross-exchanges, and discussions,
so as to ensure an environment free of the ills that plague
today’s maritime milieu – terrorism, gun-running, drug and human
trafficking, and the like. No nation has the wherewithal to
tackle the entire gamut of problems that afflict the maritime
domain. Thus, stability in the maritime domain can only be
achieved through cooperative effort and the constructive
engagement of as many maritime nations as possible. It is
towards this end that the Indian Navy engages with the navies
and maritime security agencies of the Indian Ocean Region —
within the maritime context, for the protection of not just the
merchant shipping of India and her neighbours, but of the world
at large
Consequently, to protect Indian ships and Indian citizens
employed in sea-faring duties, Indian Navy commenced anti-piracy
patrols in the Gulf of Aden from 23 Oct 08. A total of 21 IN
ships have been deployed in the Gulf of Aden since Oct 08. In
addition to escorting Indian flagged ships, ships of other
countries have also been escorted. Merchant ships are currently
being escorted along the entire length of the (490 nm long and
20 nm wide) Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC)
that has been promulgated for use by all merchant vessels. A
total of 1181 ships (144 Indian flagged and 1037 foreign flagged
from different countries) have been escorted by IN ships in the
Gulf of Aden since Oct 08. During its deployments for
anti-piracy operations, the Indian Naval ships have prevented 15
piracy attempts on merchant vessels.
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