New Delhi, April 22, 2005, Shiv Aroor(Express News Service)

The Navy’s sole aircraft carrier INS Viraat is all set to become the first Indian carrier to test South-Eastern waters this July.

Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash told Express today that INS Viraat could be one of the ships that he will take along when he visits Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in July on an invitation from his Malaysian counterpart Admiral Datuk Seri Anwar Mohammed Nor.

The newly-refurbished Viraat is in its final years of service. It will be retired in three years to make way for the Russian-built INS Vikramaaditya, though the Navy is confident it may pull through till 2009.

“My visit to the South-East is a normal exchange visit...When a chief visits, usually some ships are taken, so the men can meet interact with their counterparts in the other Navies,” Admiral Prakash said.

Since he took over as chief last year, Admiral Prakash has been a strong proponent of reaching out to the South-East. His visit will come just a few months after the defusion of tension off the coast of Kalimantan where an Indonesian ship and a Malaysian ship took hostile postures in an oil-rich zone.