Sattahip : Indian Naval Ships Udaygiri, Kavaratti and Shakti of the Eastern Fleet arrived at Sattahip, Thailand, as part of the Indian Navy's Operational Deployment. The ships, led by Rear Admiral Alok Ananda, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, were received by the Royal Thai Navy. The port call is part of India's continued maritime engagement with South East Asian nations and reflects the close and longstanding maritime partnership between India and Thailand, an official statement said.
The visit will include professional exchanges, cross-deck visits, operational interactions, sporting engagements and community outreach aimed at strengthening navy-to-navy cooperation, and interoperability. The port call aims to further strengthen camaraderie, mutual cooperation and bilateral maritime ties between India and Thailand and also showcases the indigenous design, modular construction and state-of-the-art technology of Indian Naval ships, highlighting India's growing credentials as a reliable partner in defence technology.
In a post on Facebook, the Indian Navy said, "IndianNavy's Eastern Fleet Ships Udaygiri, Shakti and Kavaratti, led by Rear Admiral Alok Ananda, FOCEF, arrived at Sattahip, Thailand. The visit aims to enhance interoperability, strengthen professional cooperation and promote greater understanding with Royal Thai Navy through a series of operational interactions, sporting engagements and community outreach activities. The port call reflects India's commitment to its Act East policy, MAHASAGAR and reinforces cooperative maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. The visit aims to strengthen maritime partnerships with ASEAN nations during the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation 2026."
Ten years after SAGAR, during an official visit to Mauritius in 2025, PM Modi announced MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), an updated doctrine. If SAGAR is the sea, then MAHASAGAR denotes 'ocean' in Hindi and several other Indian languages. MAHASAGAR marks a strategic evolution from a regional focus on the Indian Ocean to a global maritime vision, with particular emphasis on the global south.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent engagements with Mauritius, Maldives, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana and now the Philippines are aligned with the MAHASAGAR vision, a statement by the Embassy of India in Timor Leste said.