Indian naval ship commemorates 20 year relationship with ASEAN
Denpasar (ANTARA News) – The Indian Navy’s training ship INS Sudarshini has docked at Benoa Port, Bali to mark the 20 year relationship of India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN.
“This is the 20th year commemoration of the India and ASEAN dialog partnership and a historical mission for the INS Sudarsini,” said the training ship’s captain, Shyam Sundar, here on Saturday.
The training ship and its 73 crew members had previously docked in Padang, West Sumatra from 12 to 14 October, 2012.
Captain Shyam Sundar said that the training ship is sailing through the traditional routes used by Indian traders 5,000 years ago in the ASEAN region, which assisted in the spread of culture and religion.
By tracing the ancient past, the vessel is expected to bring together young people from Indonesia and India, as well as ASEAN youth, in a bid to improve “people to people contact” and strengthen cooperative relationships for the future.
The ship departed from India on September 13 and is scheduled to stop in nine countries and 13 ports in the ASEAN countries.
Meanwhile, Denpasar Navy Base Commander, Navy Colonel I Wayan Suarjaya, said there is no specific mission that will be conducted by both Indonesian and Indian Navies during the five-day visit in Bali.
“There is no specific mission, they just train the cadets before becoming naval officers,” he said.
Further, the Navy has placed two officers aboard the Indian ship while sailing from Bali to Padang to increase the knowledge of both countries’ naval officers.
INS Sudarshini is scheduled to depart from Denpasar to Manado in North Sulawesi on October 31, 2012 and is scheduled to dock in Manado from November 10 to 13, 2012.
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