Credit: Press and information team – Eunavfor Operation Aspid
On September 7, the destructive of the Italian navy Caio Duilio and the destructive of the Indian navy carried out a passing exercise in the Indian Ocean.
Caio Duilio is currently participating in Aspid European Union naval operationwhich supports freedom of navigation by protecting merchant ships and improving awareness of the maritime situation of the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean of the North West, News.Az foreign media.
This passing exercise – which included maneuvering and tactical exercises, radio and data exchanges and simultaneous flight operations – was in particular the opportunity to improve the operational interoperability of India -EU, strengthen the professional naval links of India -EU and demonstrate India and shared EU shared commitment.
A few days ago, the Spanish frigate Navarra also welcomed the Indian training squadron in the Seychelles.
In early June, the Indian Navy participated in a major naval exercise with the EU Atalanta naval operation In the Indian Ocean, focused on improving interoperability and the progression of counterpart tactics thanks to the simulation of a hacking attack against a merchant ship. Italian ship Antonio MarcegliaThe Spanish frigate Reina Sofia, the Indian frigate Trikand and an Indian maritime patrol plane participated in the exercise.
Although the Indian Ocean is particularly important for India, the EU-Indic naval cooperation is not limited to it: joint exercises have been conducted in the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Aden.
In addition to the increasing frequency and complexity of naval cooperation, India and the EU are politically closer. The EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) – directed by Delphine Pronk PSC chair – Visited India for the first time in September. The PSC oversees the EU common foreign and security policy and the common members of the PSC delegation and defense policy of 30 people – which included Ambassadors of the PSC of the EU member states, European Commission officials and officials of the European external action service – met the Foreign Affairs Secretary Vikram Misri, the national vice -adviser of Pavan Kapoor and others high Indian officials. The subjects of discussion included the fight against terrorism, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, space, industrial cooperation of defense, disinformation and consciousness of the maritime field.
In an interview, Pronk said: “We had a very firm strategy and engaged in Indo Pacific because all these theaters are extremely interconnected. Our last military naval operation, aspid operation, also does exactly this to guarantee the safe passage of the consumer ships which range from a part of the world to another part of the world. ”
India and the EU have a chance to cooperate more On industrial defense issues, including through the purchase of Indian weapons. To make a reality, however, the EU should rationalize Permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) – A legal framework to plan, develop and invest in projects with shared capacity – to facilitate cooperation with India. The EU should also be willing to soften legal and human rights obligations for India (or India should show its will to meet the requirements of the EU).
India has traditionally pursued a foreign policy not aligned with a historical inclination to Russia. In a different context, the presence of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Moda alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the top of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) would have caused European outrage. However, the style and substance of the American foreign and commercial policy push New Delhi to reassess his diplomatic strategy And Brussels to “pragmatically” neglect this development. The EU and India hope to organize a meeting at the top as soon as possible in 2026.
News.az
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