ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/12/2003 6 June 2003
Ship visit to Chennai reflects strengthening of Australia-India defence ties
An Australian Navy frigate, HMAS Adelaide, will visit Chennai from 9-13 June as a symbol of the constructive defence relationship between Australia and India.
This will coincide with a visit to India by the Maritime Commander of the Royal Australian Navy, Rear Admiral Raydon Gates, CSM RAN.
These visits underline the strengthening relationship between Australia and India on security issues, which has included the establishment of a Joint Working Group on Defence Cooperation under the second bilateral strategic dialogue held in Canberra in March this year.
The arrival of HMAS Adelaide in Chennai demonstrates Australia's commitment to maintaining a naval presence in the Indian Ocean that is in line with both Australia's and India's maritime security interests as important Indian Ocean countries. The visit will further enhance the existing good relations between the two Navies.
As part of this goodwill mission, the officers and crew of HMAS Adelaide - comprising 196 men and women - will interact with Indian Navy personnel and community representatives in Chennai, including at receptions and in sporting events. A team from the vessel will do practical community work at the Mithra school for disabled and disadvantaged children, which is run by Sister Mary Theodore OAM, a Catholic nun originally from Australia.
Rear Admiral Gates will hold discussions and consultations with senior officers of the Indian Navy to further advance working-level contact between the two Navies. He will visit the Headquarters of the Indian Navy Eastern Command at Visakhapatnam and the recently-established joint Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair. His visit to India follows the successful visit to Australia last November by the Indian Chief of Naval Staff (and now Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee) Admiral Madhvendra Singh.
HMAS Adelaide is a long-range escort frigate, with roles including area air defence, anti-submarine warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance, and interdiction. The ship can counter simultaneous threats from the air, surface and underwater. HMAS Adelaide served in the 1990-91 Gulf War and has been based in Western Australia since 30 October 1992. In 1996, she sailed into the Southern Ocean to rescue two stranded yachtsmen and in 1999 was involved in support for peacekeeping operations in East Timor.
As a major port, Chennai plays an important part in the trading relationship between India and Australia. Bilateral trade reached 3.4 billion Australian dollars in the 2002 calendar year. The city also hosts strong people-people links between the two countries, with an active Indo-Australian Association. In the field of sport, a former Australian Navy training instructor, Mr Brett Mace, is overseeing the development of India's Chennai-based national triathlon team.
For further information, please contact First Secretary Rory Medcalf on 9810154256.