Naypyidaw, May 3 — Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff of India, completed a three-day official visit to Myanmar aimed at strengthening strategic maritime cooperation and regional security ties.
On May 2, Admiral Tripathi boarded the Myanmar Navy frigate UMS Kyan Sit Thar (F12), where he was welcomed by Capt. Kyaw Thet Naing, No.1 Fleet Commander, and received with a ceremonial Guard of Honour. The shipboard programme included briefings on the Myanmar Navy’s indigenous shipbuilding efforts and an outline of the No.1 Fleet’s operational capabilities.
Discussions during the visit addressed bilateral and multilateral cooperation, steps to improve interoperability, and joint measures to bolster maritime security across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The trip was intended as a review of ongoing naval collaboration, a push to deepen operational linkages, and an opportunity to identify new areas for partnership between the two navies.
Admiral Tripathi’s schedule featured meetings with Myanmar’s senior military and defence leadership, including General Ye Win Oo, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces; Defence Minister General U Htun Aung; and Myanmar Navy Chief Admiral Htein Win. He also toured the Myanmar Navy’s Central Naval Command and Naval Training Command, and laid a wreath at the Myanmar Armed Forces Fallen Heroes’ War Memorial.
The engagement highlights India’s effort to maintain strategic influence across the Bay of Bengal and the eastern Indian Ocean, and underscores Myanmar’s importance within India’s Act East policy and maritime connectivity projects such as the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Corridor.
India and Myanmar have long worked together through defence dialogues, staff talks, training exchanges, naval exercises (IMNEX), coordinated patrols (IMCOR), port visits, and hydrographic surveys. The Ministry of Defence said the visit reaffirms enduring India–Myanmar ties based on mutual respect, trust, and a shared commitment to security and stability in the IOR.
(ANI)
