Two Navies in Sihanoukville Ports of Call

French Navy's ship Dupuy de Lôme

By Reporters, VOA Khmer
Original reports from Washington and Phnom Penh
09 April 2008

Two ships from the Indian navy docked in Sihanoukville Monday, for a five-day port of call, a defense official said.

The visit will coincide with the arrival of a battleship from the French navy, the Dupuy de Lôme, which is scheduled to arrive Thursday.

The docking of India's 180-meter INS Jyoti and the 92-meter INS Kora will be to strengthen ties between the navies of both countries, Defense Minister Tea Banh said.

The official naval visits follow ports of call by the US navy, as well as the donation of ships by China.

"They are coming just to exchange experiences and for cooperation," he said. "It's a normal visit and nothing else."

The Indian navy will work with the Cambodian navy, he said, without giving details.

An Indian embassy official told VOA Khmer that the ships were visiting Cambodia as they do in other countries, but he referred detailed questions to the commanders of the ships.

In 2006, officials said the Indian navy discussed specific areas of cooperation with Cambodia, including training, maintenance and repairs of artillery, tanks, trucks and demining equipment.

Indian navy ships arrive in Cambodia for friendship visit

Tue, 08 Apr 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Indian naval staff began a five-day goodwill visit to Cambodia, the governor of the south-western port city of Sihanoukville said Tuesday. He said the 180-metre long INS Jyoti, a replenishment vessel, and 92-metre long INS Kora arrived Monday and would embark on a series of exercises with Cambodia's navy during the visit.

Officers and crew would also spearhead a blood donation drive, visit orphanages and compete in a friendly volleyball tournament.

It is not the first visit of INS Jyoti, which first docked at the country's only deepwater port, 240 kilometres from the capital, on a similar mission in June 2006.

In November of that year, an Indian delegation visited to discuss specific areas of cooperation with the Cambodian navy including training, maintenance and repairs of artillery, tanks, trucks and demining equipment.

The Cambodian navy recently received several ships from China to bulk up its sea border patrol capacity, but remains under-equipped and under-trained compared to other regional navies after years of civil war and poverty. It has also received assistance and training from the US.

The Indian ships are due to depart Friday, Say Hak said.

Indian Navy ships pay a goodwill visit in Sihanoukville

INS Jyoti Replenishment Tanker

Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Two armed Indian Navy Ships, the INS Jyoti and the INS Kora, made a goodwill visit in Sihanoukville on 07 April 2008, for a period of 5-day. The Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper reported that the small INS Kora measures 92-meter long, 10.5-meter wide, and 8-meter deep, and is operated by a crew of 184 sailors. The larger INS Jyoti is 179-meter long, 22-meter wide, and 8-meter deep, and is operated by a crew of 223 sailors. The report also indicated that, currently, a group of sailors from the two ships left Sihanoukville for Phnom Penh and will continue on to visit Angkor Wat. A small group of sailors will visit Sihanoukville. Following the 5-day stay in Cambodia, the two ships will sail out to the Indian Ocean, on 11 April 2008.