India, Pakistan to participate in joint naval exercises

INS Shivalik will be participating in the event being organized by the People's Liberation Army Navy from Apr 23- Apr 24.

"The PLA Navy is hosting an International Fleet Review and a multilateral maritime exercise at Qingdao on 23-24 Apr 2014 to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of its founding.  On invitation from the PLA Navy the Indian Naval Ship INS SHIVALIK will be participating in the events in Qingdao. The events are coinciding with the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) being held at Qingdao on 22-23 Apr 2014,"  the Indian Embassy in Beijing said in a statement on Friday.

"The year 2014 has been declared as the 'Year of Friendly Exchanges' between India  and China.  The visit by INS SHIVALIK highlights the friendly exchanges and bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries," it said.

"The INS SHIVALIK is one of the mainstay frigates of the Indian Navy.  It has been conceived and designed by Indian Navy design teams.  The induction of the SHIVALIK in to the Indian Navy was a landmark event which heralded new era in indigenous ship building and augmented the existing blue-water capability of the Indian Navy," read the statement.