The Indian and Thai navies carried out an eight-day coordinated patrol in the Andaman Sea in the backdrop of growing concerns over China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Navy's indigenously built ship (INS) Kesari and Thailand's Chao Phraya class frigate Saiburi, along with maritime patrol aircraft from both sides, participated in the coordinated patrol (CORPAT) that concluded on Wednesday, officials said.

The two navies have been bi-annually undertaking CORPAT along their international maritime boundary line (IMBL) since 2005 with an aim to keep the vital part of the Indian Ocean safe and secure for global trade, the Indian Navy said.

"The CORPAT builds up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitates instituting measures to prevent and suppress unlawful activities like illegal unreported unregulated fishing, drug trafficking, piracy and armed robbery," it said.

"It further helps enhance the operational synergy by exchanging information for the prevention of smuggling, and illegal immigration and for the conduct of search and rescue operations at sea," the Navy said.

The Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with the countries in the Indian Ocean region towards enhancing regional maritime security as part of the government's vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region).