Naval might display at Milan 22 enthrals Vizagites
The city of destiny with a population of 2.5 million sported a festive look as the authorities erected 40 LED screens to enable the spectators to have a look at the operational demonstration and spectacular march-past at the parade at a close range.
image for illustrative purpose
Visakhapatnam: The majestic display of operational might of Indian Navy and an international city parade with the participation of friendly navies from Australia, USA, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Malaysia as part of biennial Multilateral Naval Exercise (Milan 22) with all the roads in the city leading to the beach road-the venue for the historic event, kept thousands of people mesmerised for several hours on Sunday evening.
The city of destiny with a population of 2.5 million sported a festive look as the authorities erected 40 LED screens to enable the spectators to have a look at the operational demonstration and spectacular march-past at the parade at a close range.US Navy P8 Poseidon, a maritime patrol aircraft landed at INS Dega airport on Saturday to take part in the exercise.
As many as ships from 13 countries participated. In the joint exercises, personnel from 39 countries are taking part. Milan is conducted over a duration of nine days in two phases with the harbour phase from Saturday and the sea phase from March 1 to 4. India is celebrating the 75th year of its Independence and Milan 22 will provide an opportunity to commemorate the milestone with friends and partners.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and wife Bharati Reddy, witnessed the proceedings as the chief guest along with a galaxy of officials. The opening ceremony of the biennial multilateral naval exercise was held at the Naval Auditorium at Visakhapatnam with Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt. The event was attended by the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, as well as Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Chiefs of Navies, delegation heads of participating countries and the Commanding Officers and crew of all participating ships. A special day cover and a movie on the Milan exercise was released.
The eleventh edition of Milan is hosted by the Eastern Naval Command here for the first time. All previous editions have been held at Port Blair under the aegis of the Tri-Service Andaman and Nicobar Command. The
participation from friendly foreign countries includes 13 ships, 39 delegations and one maritime patrol aircraft. This large congregation gives significance and potency to the word 'Milan' which means "meeting" or "confluence" in Hindi. Milan endeavours to promote "Camaraderie, Cohesion, Collaboration" between
like-minded navies. This is achieved by professional interaction and experience sharing at the harbour and enhancing interoperability, including multilateral operations, at sea.
The harbour phase of the exercise will culminate on Monday followed by the sea phase from March 1 to March 4. This edition of Milan is larger and more complex than all previous ones, reflecting India's growing stature as a responsible and reliable partner in the maritime domain, underscoring the Indian Navy's commitment to maritime security across the global commons.
