Exercise La Perouse 2023: Navies of India, Australia, US, UK, France and Japan participate

The two-day multilateral maritime exercise La Perouse will begin in the Indian ocean region from March 13-14, 2023. The French navy is the in-charge of this drill. Personnel, ships and integral helicopters of the Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese maritime self-defence force, and United States Navy will participate in this navy.

This exercise aims to dominate maritime domain awareness. Its also aims to enhance maritime co-ordination among the participant navies. This is basically to strengthen the bond and operational preparedness of the participant navies. It will be a challenge also to China's aggression in the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.

La Perouse Workout

The two-day practice gives like-minded navies the chance to forge stronger relationships in terms of planning, co-ordination, and information sharing for efficient maritime operations. Complex naval manoeuvres are a part of Exercise La Perouse. Exercises in air defence, anti-aircraft defence, surface combat, cross-deck landings and tactical manoeuvre are all included. This practice is being used for the third time.

The guided-missile frigates INS Sahyadri and INS Jyoti, which were both constructed by the Indian Navy, will take part in this edition. The Indian Navy's participation demonstrates the Indo-Pacific region's dedication to a rules-based international order. It also shows a high degree of synergy, co-ordination, and interoperability between friendly navies.

Earlier, the French naval ships FS Lafayette and FX Dixmude, both amphibious assault ships of the Mistral class, and the indigenously constructed guided missile frigate INS Sahayadri of the Indian Navy participated in the Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) in the Arabian Sea. The dates of this drill were March 10-11, 2017. The exercise included cross-deck landings, boarding drills, and seamanship evolutions.

A broad range of maritime evolutions was also observed. The seamless nature of the exercise demonstrates the high degree of co-operation and interoperability between the navies. "The third iteration of the multilateral exercise La Perouse is set to take place in the Indian Ocean area from March 13–14, 2023", according to a press statement from the ministry of defence.

Complex and cutting-edge military operations, such as surface combat, anti-aircraft and air defence drills, weapon firing drills, cross-deck flying operations, tactical manoeuvres, and seamanship advancements like replenishment at sea, were observed. This exercise helped in forming stronger ties between the participating nations to be ready to face maritime challenges around the world. This will also show India as a big challenge to China in the Indo-Pacific region.