As part of successful Mission Sagar-III, Indian Naval Ship Kiltan arrived at Sihanoukville Port, Cambodia. The ship delivered 15 Tons of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Stores for the flood-affected people of Cambodia, which handed over to Cambodia’s National Disaster Management Committee (NDMC).
Mission Sagar-III is part of India’s HADR assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries during the ongoing pandemic.
This Mission is being undertaken in accordance with Modi’s vision of SAGAR and reiterates India’s position as a dependable partner, and the Indian Navy as the Preferred Security Partner and First Responder.
The Mission also highlights the importance accorded to ASEAN countries and further strengthens the existing bonds.
Historically, India and Cambodia share strong cultural ties. The relations have reinforced in recent years due to increasing engagements in all sectors.
Both nations are part of the Non-Aligned Movement. India established formal diplomatic relations with the Heng Samrin regime and opened its embassy in Phnom Penh in 1981 when Cambodia was internationally isolated.
India had provided various personnel to conduct the UNTAC-sponsored elections in Cambodia in 1993.
The Government of India agreed to preserve Angkor Wat temple when the Government of Cambodia appealed, between 1986 and 1993 and spent around 4 million dollars during this conservation.
The indigenously built INS Kiltan is an anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette. The warship is the third of four Kamorta-class corvettes being built under Project 28.
The INS Kiltan “portrays the growing capability of the Indian Navy and the significance of Make in India in the defence sector”.
The INS Kiltan is India’s first major naval ship to contain a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material. This allows for more enhanced stealth features and lower costs for overall maintenance.
The warship also utilises a largely indigenous collection of advanced weapons and sensors, such as heavyweight torpedoes, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) rockets, missile decoy rockets, an advanced electronic support measure (ESM) system, and a highly advanced bow-mounted sonar and air surveillance radar, among many others.
The INS Kiltan is part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command, which is the flag bearer of India’s Act East policy.