KARACHI, March 5: Ships, aircraft and special forces of eight navies arrived here on Thursday to take part in a 10-day multi- national exercise, Aman-09, which began in the Arabian Sea on Thursday under the auspices of Pakistan Navy.

The countries taking part in the exercise include the US, UK, China, Australia, France, Japan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Turkey and Nigeria.

The exercise is being held against the background of increasing acts of piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa and shifting focus on littoral warfare.

The exercise will be conducted in three phases — planning, operational exercise at sea and analysis and debriefing.

The participating ships were given a warm welcome by Pakistan Navy officers and sailors at the Karachi harbour.

Talking to reporters, Commanding Officer of the Chinese Ship GUANGZHOU, Commander Chen Ye Qi said Pakistan-China friendship was ‘beyond boundaries’.

A large number of Chinese nationals based in Pakistan were at the harbour to accord a traditional welcome to their country’s ship.

Commanding Officer of the Australian ship taking part in the exercise, Commander Andrew Gordon, said this was the first time after 1993 that an Australian ship had come to Pakistan for deep-sea exercises.

He appreciated the efforts of Pakistan Navy to conduct this large-scale exercise.

Commanding Officer of the British ship, RFA Diligence, Captain Tony McNally said he was eagerly looking forward to taking part in the exercise.

The navies of 38 countries are participating in the exercises and 11 of them are here with battleships, maritime aircraft, sailors and special forces.

The exercise is significant because, according to a senior Pakistan Navy officer, the epicentre of the international maritime threat has moved closer to the region and Pakistan Navy has to spare its assets to actively participate in international naval operations against pirates.

Fifteen warships and about 2,000 sailors of foreign navies will be taking part in manoeuvres and 46 observers from naval forces of 27 countries will be at the Karachi harbour to monitor the exercise.
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