Reinforcing maritime links between the two countries, Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy today began a three-day India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) along their International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

The 31st edition of the annual exercise is seeing participation of Indian Naval Ship (INS) Saryu, an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel and His Majesty’s Thailand Ship (HTMS) Krabi, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, along with Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies.

Started in 2005, the Coordinated Patrol aims to keep the vital part of the Indian Ocean safe and secure for international trade. CORPAT builds up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitates institution of measures to prevent and suppress unlawful activities like Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy. It further helps enhance the operational synergy by exchange of information for prevention of smuggling, illegal immigration and forconduct of SAR operations at sea.

As part of Indian government's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) towards enhancing regional maritime security. This has been through bilateral and multilateral exercises, Coordinated Patrols, Joint EEZ Surveillance, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

The Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy have especially enjoyed a close and friendly relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions, which have strengthened over the years.