india

Updated: Apr 20, 2019 09:00 IST

The Indian Navy has dispatched two of its warships to China to take part in an international fleet review being staged at Qingdao to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese navy, a navy spokesperson said on Friday.

The locally-built stealth guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata and fleet support ship INS Shakti are set to reach China’s east coast on April 21, he said.

The two warships will be a part of the maritime parade that will be reviewed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 23. The Pakistani navy is unlikely to send warships to take part in China’s high-profile maritime parade, as reported by Hindustan Times on April 7. At least two Pakistani ships were expected to attend the review. The withdrawal of the Pakistani ships hasn’t been announced officially but the reason behind it could be the current heavy deployment of the Indian navy in the Arabian Sea, HR reported. “The IFR serves as an ideal platform for world’s navies to showcase their prowess and indigenous ship-designing and building capabilities,” the spokesperson said. “The visit of Indian Navy’s most potent destroyer and versatile fleet support ship showcases India’s indigenous ship-building capability.”

India had sent a frontline warship to Qingdao in 2014 to take part in a naval exercise to mark People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy’s 65th year of founding. That visit of INS Shivalik was in the news after the Indian Navy politely declined an unusual request from the Chinese navy chief to be shown the Combat Information Centre (CII).