Cadex 2009 was a military training exercise involving the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

and the

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and Exclusive economic zone of India, exclusive economic zone. It was st ...

. The three-day-long training exercise was held from 6 October to 8 October 2009. Training exercises between the two countries had been held annually, but this had been delayed because of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was also the first training exercise between the two navies since the end of the war. The Indian vessels that participated in the Cadex 2009 exercises were INS ''Shardul'', a

landing ship tank A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no docks or piers. The shallow d ...

of the India Navy and INCGS ''Varuna'', an

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and th ...

of the Indian Coast Guard. The offshore patrol vessels SLNS ''Sayura'' and SLNS ''Samudura'', along with the transport vessel A521 were the participating vessels from the Sri Lanka Navy.

Preparations

The Indian Navy was invited for the exercises by

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Thisara Samarasinghe Admiral Thisara Sugeeshwara Gunasekara Samarasinghe RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, DISS, MNI, SLN (born: 16 July 1955) was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy from 15 July 2008 to 15 January 2011. He had a distinguished 36-year career in the ...

, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy. Cadex 2009 was initiated despite accusations from some Indian media that the Sri Lanka Navy had killed more than 50 South Indian fishermen. The plans for the exercise were not revealed until the day the Indian cadets arrived in Sri Lanka. The Indian cadets who participated in the exercise were from the 1st Training Squadron, based in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

. They arrived at the

Colombo Harbour The Port of Colombo , (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as ...

on 5 October 2009 aboard the INS ''Krishna'' and the two vessels that participated in the exercise, ''Shardul'' and ''Varuna''. Cadex 2009 was intended to provide an opportunity for the Sri Lankan cadets to train on board Indian ships and to "enhance and exchange knowledge". The Indian cadets, in turn, were to "familiarize themselves with (Sri Lankan) tri-forces military training institutions" and also to visit places of historical and cultural value in order to "strengthen the ties between the two countries".

Training exercise

100 Sri Lankan cadets from the

Naval and Maritime Academy Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, is the naval academy of the Sri Lanka Navy, and is located within SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee. It received university status in 2001 under the leadership of Commodore SR Samaratunga. History The Sri ...

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

, and 141 Indian cadets took part in the exercises. The vessels set out from the

Colombo harbour The Port of Colombo , (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as ...

at 9.00 am (local time, UTC+5:30) and sailed for five hours before arriving at the planned location for the exercises, south west of the Colombo harbour. The Sri Lanka Navy also took media personnel aboard the SLNS ''Hansaya'' to report the exercise. A cordon was set up around the area by Fast Attack Craft of the Sri Lanka Navy. Live fire exercises were started on the night of 6 October. The exercises included a

visit, board, search, and seizure Visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) is the term used by United States military and law enforcement agencies for Naval boarding, maritime boarding actions and tactics. VBSS teams are designed to capture enemy vessels, combat Counter-terrorism ...

(VBSS) training for the Sri Lanka Navy's Special Boat Squadron, and helicopter landings aboard the ''Shardul'' and ''Sayura''. The ships returned to the Colombo harbour on 8 October. The Indian cadets also visited the

Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatal ...

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (), (), meaning ) is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers. It is home ...

, the

and the

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

Kandawala Kandawala was the home of General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala CH KBE LLD (4 April 1897 - 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan politician, most notable for serving as Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956. The house is located in a estate that ...

. They also visited places of "cultural and historical value" in the country.

Reception

According to the Sri Lanka Navy, the training exercise reflects the "mutual cooperation of the two friendly navies and the long standing bilateral relations of the two neighbouring nations". However, some

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

politicians had expressed dissatisfaction at the Indian Navy agreeing to hold Cadex 2009 with the Sri Lanka Navy. This friction is even stronger after alleged attacks on Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka Navy on January 12, 2011 near Tamil Nadu.

References

{{Reflist Indian Navy Sri Lanka Navy Military exercises and wargames October 2009 in Asia 2009 in military history October 2009 in India India–Sri Lanka relations Naval exercises Indian military exercises Indian naval exercises