Naval exercises kicks off in Arabian Sea

KARACH, Feb 10 (SABAH): Pakistan Navy on Friday kicked off one of the largest maritime exercises in the Arabian Sea along with the participation of navies of 50 countries.

The opening ceremony, held at Navy Dockyard in Karachi, was attended by a large number of military representatives, observers and diplomats from participating countries.

The eighth exercise of Aman series involved ships, aircraft and special operation forces of participating countries. The multinational exercise would be held from Feb 10-14. A message of Chief of the Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi was also read on the occasion.

Welcoming the participants, Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi said the maritime exercise aimed at promoting harmony among countries and peace. He highlighted that maritime security was facing non-traditional challenges, adding the climate change has profoundly affected the marine environment.

The exercise has been divided into harbor and sea phases. The harbour phase involves activities such as seminars, operational discussions, professional demonstrations, international get together and pre-sail planning of evolutions at sea.

The sea phase would include tactical manoeuvres, exercises related to maritime security such as anti-piracy and counter terrorism, search and rescue, gunnery firings and air defence exercises.

The maritime drill is aimed at providing a forum for understanding maritime concepts and operational cultures, enhancing interoperability as well as identifying ways and means to combat common threats at sea.

Pakistan Navy launched the exercise in 2007 with only three participants but the message of collaborative maritime security was widely acknowledged and now 50 countries have joined the drills this year.