Yesterday the Royal Australian Navy  agreed to jointly participate with the Indian Navy to counter piracy, criminal activity and terrorism in the Indian Ocean.

The RAN is participating in a four-day naval exercise.

This exercise will be conducted to bring together navies of the Asia-Pacific region to promote understanding and cooperation.

It will also safeguard sea lanes from poaching, piracy and terrorist activities, promote interoperability and engage in joint search and rescue and humanitarian operations.

According to Lieutenant commander Shane Doolin, the commander of the Australian ship, it is an obligation of every nation to participate in exercises to counter piracy, criminal activity and terrorism.

Two naval ships of Singapore, as well as ships from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, with representatives from navies of Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam and New Zealand are participating in the exercise, which began on February 4.