Indian Navy Successfully Conducts First Submarine Rescue Exercise with Foreign Vessels in South China Sea
The Indian Navy has made a significant achievement by successfully conducting its inaugural submarine intervention and rescue exercise with foreign submarines in the South China Sea. This marks a key development in enhancing India's global maritime capabilities.
This exercise was part of Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 (XPR-25), which was hosted by Singapore. The operations were carried out from INS Nistar, the Indian Navy's newest indigenously designed Diving Support Vessel (DSV), which is currently on its first international deployment.
As stated by the Navy, they "successfully achieved maiden mating with foreign submarines in the South China Sea during XPR-25, conducting the full spectrum of intervention and rescue operations." Over the span of three days, the Indian Submarine Rescue Unit (East) accomplished three successful submarine mates and carried out Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations, demonstrating India's preparedness and interoperability.
The Navy hailed this accomplishment as a "milestone," highlighting its expanding global submarine rescue capabilities, humanitarian contributions, and reliability as a maritime partner.
Commodore Anil Jai Singh (Retd), a strategic analyst, emphasized the importance of this event, describing submarine rescue as "a very visible manifestation of military diplomacy and soft power projection."
The biennial exercise saw participation from over 40 nations, either as active participants or observers. It unfolded in two phases: the harbour phase, which included symposiums, expert exchanges, and cross-deck visits, and the sea phase, where INS Nistar and international assets engaged in multiple rescue drills.
This exercise occurs amid increasing tensions in the South China Sea, where overlapping territorial claims by China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have heightened regional tensions. In this context, India's involvement highlights its operational prowess and its role as a reliable contributor to maritime safety and regional security.
