India, US launch joint disaster relief exercise in Bay of Bengal

NEW DELHI

India and the United States have begun bilateral tri-service Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercises in the Bay of Bengal, Indian officials said.

The fourth edition of the “Tiger Triumph” exercise, which started on Tuesday, will run through April 13.

India’s Ministry of Defense said the exercise aims to develop interoperability for conducting HADR operations and to establish standard operating procedures for setting up a combined coordination center that would enable “rapid and smooth coordination between Indian and US joint task forces during exercises and crisis and contingencies."

The ministry said the exercise is being held in two phases: the harbor phase, from April 1 to 7, followed by the sea phase from April 7 onwards.

“On completion of the harbor phase, the ships with troops embarked, would sail for a Sea Phase and undertake Maritime, Amphibious and HADR operations off Kakinada,” the ministry said.

Officials also noted that a joint command and control center will be established by the Indian Army and US Marines at the Kakinada naval enclave in Southern India.

On Monday night, the Indian Navy’s southern command stated that the two-week exercise will reinforce “joint readiness, interoperability and shared strategic interests” in the Indian Ocean Region.

The exercise between India and the US comes as the 14th edition of the Indian-Russia bilateral naval exercise, INDRA, is also underway in the Bay of Bengal.