Australian warship makes port call in Chennai

CHENNAI: Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba, commanded by Commander Mitchell Livingstone, made a port call in Chennai on Friday.
The ship will be here till May 15, as part of Australia’s commitment to engage with Indo-Pacific nations and to promote regional maritime security and cooperation.

The ship will participate in Exercise La Perouse in the Bay of Bengal. The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, building partner capacity and strengthening the professional relationships with regional nations.
Commander Mitchell Livingstone, an alumnus of the Indian Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, said, “Our visit to Chennai presents a great opportunity to further strengthening relations with our Indian Ocean neighbours soon after the success of Ausindex 2019 while enabling many of Toowoomba’s newly joined junior sailors their first opportunity to experience the vibrant culture of Southern India.”
Livingstone, who graduated from the College in 2013, is here with his crew of 184 officer and sailors.

According to a release from the Royal Australian Navy, Toowoomba’s visit follows the success of Ausindex 19 — which featured the largest ever Australian Defence Force Joint Task Force comprising navy, army and air force assets — to visit India.
“These visits accord with the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper’s placement of India at the ‘front rank’ of our international partnerships. Australia is committed to growing our links with India and working in partnership to solve mutual challenges,” the release said.

Source: ToI

Image Courtesy: The West Australian