Indian Navy's Kadmatt, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, arrives in Manila amid China-Philippines maritime standoff

-

Amidst the ongoing Philippines-China naval standoff, an Indian warship has been docked in Manila for a “goodwill visit”.

As a part of its regional deployment in the Indo-Pacific, INS Kadmatt, Indian Navy’s Kamorta class anti-submarine warfare corvette, Tuesday commenced its two-day visit.

This is INS Kadmatt’s second visit to the Philippines. Its first port was in October 2017.

On 13 December, there will also be a “maritime partnership exercise” between INS Kadmatt and Philippine Navy’s BRP Ramon Alcaraz in the West Philippine Sea.

The docking of the Indian warship in Manila comes amid heightened tensions between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea.

China, Philippines trade blame after boat-ship collision in South China Sea

Over the weekend, Chinese and Philippine vessels were embroiled in multiple clashes in the South China Sea amid a continued escalation of tension between both countries over maritime territory.

On Sunday, the Philippines said the latest incident of collision happened during its resupply mission to a tiny garrison on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, which is a flashpoint for Manila and Beijing.

This came a day after the Philippines’ sea task force said its vessels were damaged after being “directly targeted” by a Chinese coast guard ship that used water cannons to “obstruct” three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal, off the main island of Luzon.

Reportedly, General Romeo Brawner, the Philippine military chief, was on board during the incidents. The Philippines has lodged diplomatic protests and summoned Ambassador Huang Xilian.

The tension between Manila and Beijing over the sea flared up again in recent months after multiple incidents involving Philippine and Chinese vessels, including two previous collisions.

Indo-Pacific important for India

Meanwhile, talking to reporters, India’s ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran said the Indo-Pacific region holds considerable importance for India, emphasising the central location of the Philippines within the region.

He also highlighted the strong partnership between India and the Philippines and the close ties between both countries as fellow democracies.

“We have a shared interest in peace and stability of the region. So you will expect that India will continue a strong navy and maritime security engagement,” he said.

Kumaran also called for a rules-based order and respect for international law, after the recent face-off between China and Philippines vessels.

“We fully support our Philippine friends in their efforts to ensure that whatever happens in the seas respects the constitution of the seas,” he said.

With inputs from agencies



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/fxFPwK7
Umang Sharma

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more