Multinational “Aman-17” naval exercise kicks off

KARACHI: International naval exercise “Aman-17” kicked off in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Karachi on Friday, ARY News reported.

Thirty-six countries are participating or observing the international naval exercise.

The joint exercise will be conducted by navies from 12 countries including Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States while envoys from 31 countries will observe the exercises.

Russian ships are attending the Aman series naval exercise for the first time.

“Aman-17” will include ships, aircraft, helicopters, Special Operations Forces (SOF), Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD), marines and observers from regional as well extra-regional navies.

Commander Pakistan Fleets Vice Admiral Syed Arifullah Hussaini said that “Aman-17” naval exercise has helped the country clear Arabian Sea of pirates.

The multinational naval exercises are conducted by Pakistan since 2007.

Earlier, four exercises of AMAN series have been organized in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 in which large number of ships, special operation forces (SOF) and observers from leading navies of the region/world participated.

The current exercise is the fifth of the series, being held from 10-14 February 2017.