NEW DELHI, Oct 27: Indian and US destroyers, frigates and submarines conducted joint naval exercises off India’s western coast on Friday, officials said.

The two navies are engaged in exercises including anti-submarine operations, boarding hostile vessels and a “simulated war at sea,” the Indian navy said in a statement. A Canadian frigate also joined the exercises.

More than 6,500 US Navy personnel will take part in the exercises, which run through Nov 5, the US Embassy said.

“The purpose of the multinational exercise, which focuses on a number of naval mission areas, is to strengthen ties between American, Canadian and Indian forces as well as enhance the cooperative security relationship between the nations involved,” the embassy said in a statement.

The exercises, which began on Wednesday, involve several American and Indian destroyers, guided-missile frigates and other warships carrying out combat, search-and-rescue and patrolling manoeuvres in the Arabian Sea.

The exercises, code-named “Malabar-06,” also include air operations, sea control missions aimed at preventing piracy and counterterrorism actions at sea.

Over the past five years, India and the United States have held several joint naval exercises off India’s western and southern coasts. Indian ships have also conducted joint patrols with US ships in the Strait of Malacca.—AP