Mission Sagar-III | 30 Dec 2020

Why in News

Recently, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan has arrived at Sihanoukville Port, Cambodia as part of ongoing Mission Sagar-III.

Key Points

  • The ship will deliver 15 tons of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) stores for the flood-affected people of Cambodia, which will be handed over to Cambodia’s National Disaster Management Committee (NDMC).
    • Earlier, the ship delivered 15 Tons of HADR Stores for the flood-affected people of Central Vietnam.
  • Mission Sagar-III is part of India’s HADR assistance to friendly foreign countries during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
    • In November 2020, as part of Mission Sagar-II, INS Airavat delivered food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.
    • Launched in May 2020, 'Mission Sagar’ was India’s initiative to deliver Covid-19 related assistance to the countries in the Indian Ocean Littoral states. The countries included were Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles.
  • This Mission is being undertaken in accordance with the Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision and reiterates India’s position as a dependable partner, and the Indian Navy as the Preferred Security Partner and First Responder.
  • The Mission also highlights the importance accorded to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and further strengthens the existing bonds.
    • Cambodia and Vietnam are member nations of the ASEAN.

INS Kiltan

  • It is a Kamorta-class anti-submarine warfare corvette.
  • It is part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command, based at Visakhapatnam.
  • INS Kiltan, along with the INS Sahyadri, is the latest, indigenously designed and built multi-role ships of the Indian Navy.
    • The two ships are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors and can carry multi-role helicopters representing the ‘coming of age’ of India’s warship building capabilities.

Security and Growth for All in the Region

  • Launched in 2015, it is India’s strategic vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • Through SAGAR, India seeks to deepen economic and security cooperation with its maritime neighbours and assist in building its maritime security capabilities.
  • Further, India seeks to safeguard its national interests and ensure the IOR to become inclusive, collaborative and respect international law.
  • The key relevance of SAGAR emerges when seen in conjunction with India’s other policies impacting the maritime domain like Act East Policy, Project Sagarmala, Project Mausam, focus on Blue Economy etc.

Source: PIB