The sea phase of the exercise covered wide spectrum of maritime and naval operations by ships, helicopters, Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Fighters and special forces. Joint Boarding Operations by Special Forces, Air Defence Exercises, Communication Drills and Joint Manoeuvres by ships were the hallmark of the events conducted at sea. A de-brief/hot wash-up of the exercise was also held at sea upon culmination of the exercise. Pakistan Navy and PLA (Navy) have been interacting since long, however, bilateral naval exercises are unique in the entire spectrum of multifaceted maritime operations.
Earlier, the maiden exercise of the series held in September 2014 at Karachi laid a solid foundation for the 2nd exercise in Shanghai, China from 28 December 2015 to 3rd January 2016. The third Pak Navy and PLA (Navy) bilateral exercise held in close timeframe is reflective of strong mutual desire to improve the level of co-ordination and inter-operability at operational and tactical levels. The exercise provided a further impetus to growing mutual naval collaboration to effectively contribute towards contemporary maritime security challenges in the region.
The deep rooted naval collaboration between Pakistan Navy and PLA (Navy) has become even more important in the backdrop of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to effectively handle complex asymmetric challenges in the maritime domain. In this regard, bilateral exercises are expected to go a long way in promoting maritime security and stability in the region in years to come.-PR