France-led 5-nation naval exercise (India, US, Australia, Japan and France) La Perouse kicked off its third edition in the Indian Ocean on Monday.
"France-led 5-nation naval exercise La Perouse has kicked off in the Indian Ocean. Ships of India, United States, Australia & Japan Navies have joined the French Navy helicopter & shared commitment to rules-based Indo-Pacific," tweeted French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain.
La Perouse Exercise is a multilateral naval exercise aimed at improving interoperability between navies and fostering mutual understanding and cooperation between participating nations.
The exercise provides an excellent platform for participating nations to hone their operational and tactical skills in a multinational environment, better understand each other's maritime methodologies and enhance their ability to operate together. The exercise also aims at deepening military-to-military relations between India and France, Russia and the United States.
The first edition of the France-initiated La Perouse multinational exercise was held in 2019 and saw the participation of the navies of Australia, Japan and the US. In the second edition in 2021, the Indian Navy joined in for the first time.
India's participation in 2021 completed the QUAD (India, USA, Australia and Japan) force representation in the French-led Naval Exercise.
The Indo-Pacific is slowly but surely turning into a serious Naval Theatre for multi-national activities with a vision to establish a free, open, inclusive, and rule-based ordering of the Indo-Pacific to support the freedom of navigation and peaceful cooperative use of the seas.
The goal is to respect and adhere to international laws like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and peaceful resolution of territorial sea disputes.
The role of the QUAD navies in the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) has been well illustrated by the effective cooperative engagement capabilities of the multi-national Naval powers through naval exercises like formation sailing, live fire drills, Search and Rescue (SAR) operations etc.
On the other hand, China endeavours to establish a defensive perimeter around its seas (Yellow Sea, East China Sea and part of South China Sea) by following a sea denial policy in these regions.
China has disputes with several countries in the region with respect to territorial issues including with Japan, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, etc.
( With inputs from ANI )
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