In swift follow-up action, Indian warship visits Indonesia's Sabang port

On Wednesday, the Indian Navy patrol vessel, INS Sumitra, became the first-ever warship to sail into the Indonesian port of Sabang, strategically poised at the mouth of the Malacca Strait. Underlining the importance New Delhi and Jakarta place on the visit, the vessel was welcomed to Sabang by traditional Indonesian dancers, Indonesian navy and air force officers, and Indian diplomats based in Jakarta, including the ambassador, P K Rawat. This swift follow-up comes on the heels of thejoint announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo,in Jakarta on May 30,that an Indian-Indonesian joint task force would “undertake projects for port related infrastructure in and around Sabang.” A fortnight before that, Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s minister for maritime affairs, on a visit to New Delhi to negotiate the agreement, noted that the 40 feet-deep port at Sabang was suitable for both civilian and military vessels, “including submarines.”