Current Affairs - Defence - Discussion

SIMBEX, the 25th edition of the India-Singapore bilateral naval exercise has begun at the tri-services command on November 10, 2018. The exercise is being held in Port Blair, Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It will conclude on November 21. India and Singapore have vastly expanded their military cooperation in recent years under India's Act East policy. In 2017, the two countries signed a naval agreement which has a provision for mutual logistical support and gives India access to the Changi naval base. The trilateral exercise between the countries is with an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) country, likely Thailand, and eventually, plan to scale it up to a multilateral format.