IN-EUNAVFOR Joint Naval Exercise | 19 Jun 2021

Why in News

The maiden Indian Navy - European Union Naval Force (IN-EUNAVFOR) Exercise is being conducted in Gulf Of Aden.

Key Points

• Participants
  • Along with Indian Navy, other naval forces are from Italy, Spain and France.
  • The naval exercise included advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, tactical manoeuvres, Search & Rescue, and other maritime security operations.
• Aim:
  
  • To enhance and hone their war-fighting skills and their ability as an integrated force to promote peace, security and stability in the maritime domain.
• Significance:
  
  • EUNAVFOR and the Indian Navy converge on multiple issues including counter piracy operations and protection of vessels deployed under the charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).
  • The two navies also have regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and Deconfliction) meetings held annually at Bahrain.
    
    • SHADE is an international operational counter piracy platform, convened in Bahrain.
    • It aimed to encourage partners for sharing information, assessing the evolution of trends, best practices and to de-conflict operations amongst counter-piracy actors in the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman and the Western Indian Ocean.
  • It also underscores the shared values in ensuring freedom of seas and commitment to an open, inclusive and a rules-based international order.
  • Concurrently, a virtual “Information sharing Exercise” is also being conducted between the Indian Navy Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region and Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa, an integral part of EUNAVFOR.

Source: PIB