The INS Kulish Cambodia visit opened on Saturday, with the Indian Navy corvette becoming the first Indian warship ever to dock at Ream Naval Base in Preah Sihanouk province. The ship is on the Eastern Fleet's Operational Deployment through South East Asia, a deployment that has already taken sister ships to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore this year, and will remain in Cambodia through Tuesday.

Rear Adm In Sokhemara, Deputy Commander of Ream Naval Base, led the Royal Cambodian Navy officers who received the ship, joined by officials from the Embassy of India in Phnom Penh.

Four days of engagement at Ream

The programme runs across four days in Kampong Som city. Professional interactions between the two navies, familiarisation visits around the base, and sports fixtures meant to build camaraderie between the crews fill out the schedule, alongside a round of calls on senior Cambodian officials.

The Indian delegation will call on the Governor of Preah Sihanouk province, the Commander of Ream Naval Base, and officials of Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence.

A joint PASSEX before departure

Before INS Kulish sails on, the two navies will run a joint Operational Turnaround and a Passage Exercise together, giving crews from both sides a chance to work through manoeuvres at sea rather than only alongside.

Where the INS Kulish Cambodia visit fits in India's outreach

The Indian Navy has tied the stop to its Eastern Fleet deployment and to Act East Policy outreach across the Indo-Pacific. It also cited MAHASAGAR, the Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions vision, as framing for a port call meant to keep the maritime environment free, open and inclusive.

The timing lines up with the ASEAN India Year of Maritime Cooperation 2026, under which New Delhi has pushed joint work with South East Asian navies on maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and the blue economy.

A Kora class ship making a new kind of call

INS Kulish is a Kora class guided missile corvette carrying the pennant P63, one of four ships of the class built for the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet. She measures 91.16 metres in length and 10.46 metres in beam, with a draft of 4.27 metres and a displacement of 1,449 tonnes. The INS Kulish Cambodia visit marks the first time a ship of this class has called at a Cambodian naval facility.

Cdr Suraj Kumar Singh has command of the ship for this deployment, with 11 officers and 120 sailors aboard.

A decade of Bridges of Friendship with Phnom Penh

Indian naval visits to Cambodia go back further than this port call. The Navy's First Training Squadron, comprising INS Sujata and the Indian Coast Guard ship Veera, called at Sihanoukville in February 2025, and its Senior Officer met Admiral Tea Vinh, Commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy, in Phnom Penh during that visit.

INS Kiltan carried flood relief material to Sihanoukville in December 2020 under Mission Sagar III, and INS Sahyadri had called at the port the year before that. Ream Naval Base itself, though, had not previously received an Indian Navy ship before this weekend.