The maiden Bilateral Maritime Exercise between the Indian Navy (IN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) was conducted from December 20 to 23.

Indigenously built Indian Naval ships Kulish and IN LCU 56 participated in the inaugural edition of the exercise.

The RTN side was represented by His Thai Majesty's Ship (HTMS) Prachuap Khiri Khan.

The 36th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) was also conducted along with the maiden bilateral exercise.

Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies participated in the Sea Phase of the exercise.

With the institution of a Bilateral Exercise, both navies have taken a step towards strengthening operational synergy and progressively increasing the exercise complexity. During the maiden edition of the exercise, participating units from both navies conducted surface and anti-air exercises including weapon firing, seamanship evolutions and tactical manoeuvres.

As part of Government of India's vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with countries in the Indian Ocean Region towards enhancing regional maritime security.

The Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy have maintained a close and friendly relationship which has strengthened over the years.

The conduct of maiden IN-RTN Bilateral Exercise along with Indo-Thai CORPAT is a testimony to the growing bilateral relations between the two maritime neighbours and has enabled in enhancing interoperability between the two navies.

Ayodhya connection

The Indo-Thai Bilateral Exercise is being named as ‘Ex-Ayutthaya’, which literally translates to ‘The Invincible One’ or ‘Undefeatable’, and symbolises the significance of two of the oldest cities Ayodhya in India and Ayutthaya in Thailand, the historic legacies, rich cultural ties and shared historical narratives dating back to several centuries.