KARACHI: Navies from 50 countries — including Turkey, the US, and China — have begun a five-day multinational naval exercise led by Pakistan in the Arabian Sea.
The biannual event, which has taken place since 2007, began with a flag-raising ceremony, state-run Pakistan Television reported.
Regional countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, as well as African Union countries, are taking part in the event with ships, aircraft, special operations forces, marine teams, and observers.
According to the Chinese Defense Ministry, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, Nanning, is taking to part in the drills.
The naval exercise, organised under the slogan “Together for Peace,” is aimed at providing a forum for understanding maritime concepts and operational cultures, enhancing interoperability, and identifying ways and means to combat common threats at sea, the Pakistan Navy said in a statement.
It added that the eighth edition is divided into two phases: harbour and sea.
The harbour phase involves seminars, operational discussions, professional demonstrations, international get together, and pre-sail planning of sea evolutions.
The sea phase includes tactical manoeuvres, maritime security exercises such as anti-piracy and counter-terrorism, search and rescue, gunnery firings, and air defense exercises.
The drill will continue until next Tuesday.
The previous edition, held in February 2021, included 48 countries.
In a related development, Pakistan’s first-ever International Maritime Expo and Conference also kicked off in Karachi on Friday.
