Aamir Latif
10 February 2023•Update: 10 February 2023
KARACHI, Pakistan
Navies from 50 countries, including Türkiye, the US, and China, began a five-day multinational naval exercise led by Pakistan in the Arabian Sea on Friday.
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, organized 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: harbor and sea.
The harbor phase involves seminars, operational discussions, professional demonstrations, international get together, and pre-sail planning of sea evolutions.
The sea phase includes tactical maneuvers, 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 Feb. 2021, included 48 countries.
In a related development, Pakistan’s first-ever International Maritime Expo and Conference also kicked off in Karachi on Friday.
