Indian Navy to Deploy Task Force in South China Sea

As part of India’s “Act East” policy, Indian Navy ships will undertake an overseas deployment to Southeast Asian countries in the Indian Ocean.

The Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet Task Force is expected to embark on an overseas deployment that will take them to South East Asia, the South China Sea and Western Pacific beginning in early August 2021 for two months.

To strengthen existing bonds between India and countries of the Indo-Pacific, the Indian Navy deployment is a display of operational reach, peaceful presence, and solidarity.

Bilateral exercises with the Vietnamese Peoples’ Navy, the Republic of Philippines Navy, the Republic of Singapore Navy (SIMBEX), the Indonesian Navy (Samudra Shakti), and the Royal Australian Navy (AUS-INDEX) are planned during the deployments in the Indo-Pacific.

To make their participation even more noteworthy, they will be taking part in MALABAR-21, a multilateral exercise that also involves the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, the Royal Australian Navy, and the United States Navy in the Western Pacific.