Warships from Russia, US in Arabian Sea for naval exercise

ISLAMABAD: Warships from various countries, including Russia, China and the US, have arrived in the Arabian Sea near Karachi to take part in a multi-nation naval exercise hosted by Pakistan.

Code-named as Aman (peace)-17, the five-day long exercise will start from tomorrow in the north Arabian Sea.

Theme of the exercise is 'Together for peace', according to Pakistan Navy.

A Pakistani naval official said warships from Russia, China and the US have arrived to take part in the exercise.

"Water salute was presented for the warships on reaching the Karachi port," he said, adding that it was mega event and the warships from 36 countries will take part in the exercise.

Three war vessels from Russia, four from US, and one each from Indonesia, Australia and Turkey will participate. Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and the UK will also participate.

Commander Pakistan Fleets Vice Admiral Syed Arifullah Hussaini said this week that the exercise will help to clear the Arabian Sea of pirates.

"These exercises help the participating countries come together and further their relations," he said.

The exercise will feature ships, aircraft, helicopters, Special Operations Forces (SOF), Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD), marines and observers from different navies.

Pakistan has been organizing such naval exercises since 2007 every alternate year. The current exercise is the fifth of the series and will be held from 10-14 February.

Previous four exercise were held in 2001, 2009, 2011 and 2013. In 2015, only international maritime conference was held.