Cadex 2009 was a

military training exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

involving the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

, Sri Lanka Navy 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. The Indian Coast Guard was formally esta ...

. 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 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 ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

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 Thisara Samarasinghe, the

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera. It is a position equivalent to that of First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy or Chief of Naval Operations ...

. 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 (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. They arrived at the Colombo Harbour 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 ...

at Trincomalee, and 141 Indian cadets took part in the exercises. The vessels set out from the Colombo harbour 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 A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive ...

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 maritime boarding actions and tactics. VBSS teams are designed to capture enemy vessels, combat terrorism, piracy, and smuggli ...

(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 Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (දියතලාව, meaning “the watered plain”) 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 ...

, the

in Trincomalee and the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in

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 tha ...

. 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 a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

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 events in Asia 2009 in military history October 2009 events in India India–Sri Lanka relations Naval exercises Indian military exercises Indian naval exercises