US conducts naval exercise PASSEX with India near Andamans

On Monday, July 20, a US Navy carrier strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz conducted an exercise with a fleet of Indian naval ships off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

PASSEX (passing exercise), called so by the US Navy when their naval ships conduct joint drills with ships of another navy to maximise interoperability while passing by the country of that navy.

The USS Nimitz was transiting through the Indian Ocean coming from the South China Sea.

Both Indian and the US navies conducted high-end joint training exercises including air defence.

The exercise comes in the midst of tensions both countries have with China. USS Nimitz arrived near Andamans after passing through the South China Sea which China claims as its own and has been building artificial islands across it.

The exercise also showcases a reversal of roles and strategy from merely 50 years ago. US Navy’s Task Force 74 consisting about 11 naval ships gathered from the seas near Philippines and Vietnam had arrived in the Bay of Bengal on December 15, 1971 – one day before the surrender of Pakistan to India in the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Task Force 74 had arrived in support of Pakistan against India in the War. As India had signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with the erstwhile Soviet Union, the Soviet Navy had also sent a group of ships which included a nuclear submarine carrying nuclear missiles.