Article Posted on : - Sep 23, 2013

NEW DELHI (PTI): India and Malaysia will explore ways to strengthen their military ties during the five-day visit of Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi to Kuala Lumpur starting Monday.

As part of its "Look East" policy, India has been increasing strategic ties with countries like Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

During his visit, Joshi is expected to meet the top Malaysian defence leadership including his counterpart Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar and discuss a wide range of bilateral issues on defence cooperation, a Navy official said.

Malaysia has been a close ally of the Indian armed forces and the two sides have several common equipment such as the SU-30MKI aircraft and Scorpene submarines.

The Navy chief is also expected to visit some important military installations of the Malaysian armed forces.

The Malaysian Navy has reportedly been seeking training in submarine operations from Indian personnel and has also evinced interest in procurement of the supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS.