MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A group of Russian warships from the Pacific Fleet has entered the Indian Ocean for international joint military exercises with countries from the Asian-Pacific region, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Eastern Military District’s press service said Thursday.
“There are 20 warships and vessels with participants from 32 Asian-Pacific region countries involved in the exercise…The Russian sailors will operate together during the exercise with ships from 15 countries, including from Australia, China, the United States, Japan, and countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” Capt. 1st Rank Roman Martov said.
According to Martov, participants of the exercises will have a drill to recapture a ship, seized by pirates. For that purpose, the Russian side will involve anti-terror and aviation groups.
The goal of the Komodo 2016 navy exercises is to promote the cooperation on maritime issues including information exchange, training and personnel reciprocation, according to the official website of the drills. The exercises will last until April 16.
