Russia will hold the first-ever joint naval exercises with the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia, starting next Wednesday.

Alexander Ivanov, Russia's Permanent Representative to ASEAN, has revealed that the exercises will be held in the region of North Sumatra from December 1-3 and Moscow will be sending its large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev, which is part of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy, to take part in them.

"The decision to hold joint naval exercises was made at the Fourth Russia-ASEAN Summit, which was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 28, 2021, by videoconference. The meeting was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations, which is celebrated this year between our country and the association, "the diplomat told RIA Novosti, the state-owned domestic news agency of Russia.

The head of the diplomatic mission said that several decisions were taken in the summit to develop the strategic partnership between Russia and ASEAN.

"The exercises are aimed at practicing interaction between the Russian Navy and the Navy of the ASEAN member countries to ensure the safety of maritime commercial activities and navigation and will be divided into two phases – virtual and maritime," said Ivanov.

He informed that Prabovo Subiyanto, the Defence Minister of Indonesia, is planning to inaugurate the exercise from the Russian destroyer.  

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com, Moscow is enhancing defence partnerships with like-minded partners in the region, including India. Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev was in Colombo on Monday to define the Kremlin's renewed focus on South Asia.

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