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Vietnamese officers aboard the frigate |
Commander Amit S Gore, captain of Indian ship INS Kirpan, chaired a solemn welcome ceremony with military music for the frigate and its crew-members right at the harbor.
Representatives of the organizers of the exercise and other Indian naval officers joined the event. On behalf of the Vietnamese mission, Senior Captain Nguyen Van Ngan, head of the mission and Commander Vu Trong Tan, captain of the 016-Quang Trung, attended the welcome ceremony.
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The 016-Quang Trung docks at Visakhapatnam port city. |
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The military art troupe of the Indian Navy welcomes the 016-Quang Trung at the harbor. |
In his speech, Captain Ngan expressed his delight at visiting the beautiful country of India on a special occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The Vietnamese officer thanked the host for the thoughtful and respectful welcome and confirmed that the Vietnamese frigate and its members are ready for the exercise and wished the exercise a success.
MILAN 2022 will take place from February 25 to March 4, drawing the participation of 42 countries and naval ships of more than 15 countries, according to updated information from The Hindu.
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Representatives of the Indian Navy welcome the Vietnam People’s Navy mission. |
This is the first time the U.S. has attended the exercise. Other participating countries, such as Russia, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia have not sent ships to the exercise.
Themed “Camaraderie – Cohesion – Collaboration,” MILAN 2022 is divided into two phases: the Harbor Phase slated for February 25 to 28 and the Sea Phase from March 1 to 4. Several sideline activities will be held during the exercise.
The exercise will be held on the shore and in the waters to the east of Visakhapatnam city.
The opening ceremony of the exercise is scheduled to take place on February 26 with a highlight of “MILAN cultural village” where participating countries will introduce their unique culinary cultures.
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Commander Vu Trong Tan, captain of the 016-Quang Trung, inquires after Indian officers. |
The Vietnamese mission is going to serve international friends with traditional dishes such as pho, and nem (spring roll).
Apart from exercises at sea, ashore cultural and sports exchanges during the exercise are expected to be special marks of the event and help boost understanding and cooperation among participating navies.
This is the first time Vietnam has sent its frigate to this largest-scale multilateral naval exercise in the Asia-Pacific region.
Vietnam participated in MILAN 2018, which saw the attendance of 17 countries, as an observer. In 2020, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense decided to send a warship and crewmembers to MILAN 2020. However, the exercise was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Reported by My Hanh and Linh Oanh from Visakhapatnam, India
Translated by Mai Huong