3 Indian Navy Ships Reach Singapore For Operational Deployment To South China Sea

The Indian Navy said in a post on X that Indian Naval Ships Delhi, Shakti, and Kiltan, led by Rear Admiral (RAdm) Rajesh Dhankhar, reached the Changi naval base in the city-state on Monday.

The three ships will leave for Malaysia on Thursday and then visit the Philippines.

The visit is part of the "Op Deployment of #IndianNavy's @IN_EasternFleet to the #SouthChinaSea," it said, amidst China flexing its muscles in the South China Sea.

The three Indian naval ships were welcomed by personnel of the Singapore Navy and the High Commissioner of India in Singapore. On Tuesday, RAdm Dhankhar and the Indian High Commissioner hosted a reception onboard INS Shakti for 150 guests and missions heads.

The "visit is poised to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two maritime nations through a series of engagements and activities," the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi said in a statement.

The two countries' navies have had robust relations spanning three decades of cooperation, coordination and collaboration with regular visits, exchange of best practices, and reciprocal training arrangements.

"The current deployment underscores the strong linkages between both the navies," the statement said.

At present, the Chinese navy is involved in a standoff with the US-backed Philippines naval ships in the South China Sea, with the latter trying to assert its claim over the Second Thomas Shoal in the waters, which is strongly resisted by China.

China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.