JIMEX 23: Japan-India Maritime Exercise begins at Visakhapatnam

The seventh edition of the bilateral Japan-India Maritime Exercise 2023 (JIMEX 23) began on Wednesday (July 5, 2023). It is being hosted by the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam from July 5-10, 2023.

JIMEX 23 will witness the participation of INS Delhi, India's first indigenously built Guided Missile Destroyer, INS Kamorta, an indigenously designed and built Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, fleet tanker INS Shakti, a submarine, maritime patrol aircraft P8I and Dornier, ship-borne helicopters and fighter aircraft.

JMSDF will be represented by guided missile destroyer JS Samidare and its integral helicopters, the Ministry of Defence said. The JMSDF units are taking part under the command of RAdm Nishiyama Takahiro, Commander Escort Flotilla One. The Indian Naval ships are under the command of RAdm Gurcharan Singh, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet are participating in the exercise.

The Harbour Phase of the exercise at Visakhapatnam will comprise professional, sports and social interactions. After this, the two navies will jointly hone their warfighting skills during the Sea Phase and enhance their interoperability through complex multi-discipline operations in the surface, sub-surface and air domains.

"Having grown in scope and complexity over the years, JIMEX 23 provides an opportunity to learn from each other's best practices and facilitates operational interactions between IN and JMSDF to foster mutual cooperation and reaffirm their shared commitment towards maritime security in the region," the Ministry of Defence noted.

The sixth edition of the joint exercise was hosted the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal in September 2022. This edition marks the 11th anniversary of JIMEX, since its inception in 2012.

The Indian Navy and JMSDF have a long-standing relationship of cooperation and trust and have been engaged in defence cooperation for several years.

In addition to the bilateral JIMEX, the Indian Navy and the JMSDF also take part in the multilateral Malabar Exercise along with the US Navy and the Australian Navy.

In the past, both navies have shared intelligence and conducted port visits to each other's countries. The relationship between the two navies has steadily grown stronger, with a focus on enhancing maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.