New Delhi [India], November 12 (ANI): Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, on Wednesday embarked on an official visit to the United States aimed at further enhancing the longstanding maritime partnership between the Indian Navy and the United States Navy, as per an official release.

According to the release, Admiral Tripathi will be in the US from November 12 to November 17, during which he is scheduled to hold discussions with senior officials of the US Department of War and meet top US naval leadership, including Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, and Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT), Admiral Stephen T. Koehler.

The engagements will provide an opportunity to review ongoing maritime cooperation, strengthen operational-level linkages, and enhance mechanisms for information sharing and maritime domain awareness between the two navies.

Admiral Tripathi will also interact with key naval institutions and operational commands of the US Navy, with discussions expected to focus on shared maritime priorities in the Indo-Pacific, collaboration within multilateral frameworks such as MILAN, and initiatives of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

The CNS's visit coincides with the multilateral naval exercise, Exercise Malabar 2025, a major Indo-Pacific maritime drill aimed at strengthening interoperability and coordination among the four partner nations--India, the US, Japan, and Australia--held in the West Pacific training area from November 10 to 18.

First established as a bilateral India-US exercise in 1992, Exercise Malabar has since evolved into a key maritime activity of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), involving Australia, Japan, India, and the United States. Australia hosted the 2023 edition of the exercise. Though the Quad is not a military alliance, the exercise serves as a platform to strengthen maritime security and uphold freedom of navigation in the region.

India and the United States share a robust maritime partnership built on mutual trust and shared values. The visit by Admiral Tripathi underscores the Indian Navy's commitment to deepening cooperation with the US Navy in pursuit of a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. (ANI)