Shanghai: The scheduled first-ever joint Naval exercise between India and China this week will go a long way in enhancing mutual trust and confidence between the militaries of the two Asian giants and lead to stronger bilateral ties, a senior Indian Navy officer said in Shanghai today (Nov 10).

"The port call by the Indian Naval ships and the scheduled search and rescue exercise between the Navies of India and China are extremely important events in the evolving military-to-military relations between the two neighbouring nations," Flag Officer Commanding (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command, Vice Admiral O P Bansal told reporters.

Speaking on board 'INS Ranjit,' a guided missile destroyer leading the fleet of three Indian Navy ships on a five-day good-will visit to China, Bansal said the scheduled 'search and rescue' exercise on November 14 would open a new chapter in bilateral ties and would allow Indian and Chinese navies to cooperate more on issues affecting the maritime safety of the two countries as well as the region.

He noted that Indian Naval ships had visited Shanghai last time in September 2000 and that their Chinese counterpart had also sent its vessels to India in 2001.

"Now we have come to Shanghai this time with a bigger presence and we hope the Chinese Navy would reciprocate and visit us," he said, adding that the search and rescue exercise between the Indian Navy and the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) would enable the two big Naval fleets to enhance cooperation and build mutual trust.

Indian Ambassador to China, Nalin Surie said the visit of the Indian Naval ships was "a clear symbol that India-China relations were moving in the right direction as desired by the leadership of the two nations".

Noting the significant forward momentum in bilateral ties after the visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to China in June, Surie said the first-ever search and rescue Naval manoeuvres between Indian and Chinese Navies was approved during the visit.

"The visit of the Indian Naval ships to China and the joint Naval exercises are part of a long process that has been planned by the two countries to enhance mutual trust and understanding between them," he added.

Apart from INS Ranjit, the two other ships are the INS Kulish, a guided-missile corvette, and INS Jyoti, a replenishment tanker, all from the eastern Naval command.

The commander of the Shanghai Naval base, Rear Admiral Xu Jiwei welcomed the flag officer command of the Eastern fleet of the Indian Navy, Rear Admiral R P Suthan and other officers and crew of the three ships which came from South Korea after a visit.

Apart from enhancing mutual trust and confidence, the exercises are also aimed at ensuring the safety of maritime trade and improving coordination in search and rescue at sea, analysts said.

They also noted that the search and rescue drill assumes added significance as navigation in the South China Sea and the neighbouring Malacca Straits has been plagued by sea piracy, a serious issue confronting commercial liners.

PTI