Pakistan-Turkish Navies To Hold Joint Exercises On Nov 5-14

Islamabad, Nov. 5, IRNA – Pakistan and Turkey will hold 10-day joint naval exercises in Turkey from November 5 to 14, officials said Sunday. Pakistan Navy ship 'PNS Shamsheer' and Pakistan Navy 'P3C-Orion' aircraft will participate in the exercise “Mavi Baline-12,' an official statement said. The ship will stay at Aksaz Naval Base from 5-8 November and at Antalya from 12-14 November. The vessel is a multi-mission frigate and embarks a Z9EC helicopter. PNS Shamsheer is the second ship of SWORD Class Frigates and forms mainstay of Pakistan Navy surface combatants. Installation of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors on board makes her an extremely versatile warship with tremendous firepower to effectively thwart possible threats at sea. Mavi Balina exercise is fast transforming into an important regional forum to promote Collaborative Maritime Security and interoperability. The presence of a number of major navies and various senior delegations from important countries is indicative of the fact that Mavi Balina is evolving into a common forum for both Western and Eastern nations, to share, discuss and propose solutions for Collaborative Maritime Security which is one of the critical contemporary maritime challenges. 'PNS Shamsheer participation in this exercise will further strengthen existing bilateral relations. Reciprocation visits of high level defense delegations, exchange training programs and visits of naval units is a regular feature of Turkey-Pakistan defense relations,' the statement said. Pakistan Navy is actively involved in maintaining peace and stability in the region - from Gulf of Aden to Gulf of Oman including North Arabian Sea, it said, adding Pakistan Navy ships are vigorously operating and participating in all peace-keeping missions. Pakistan Navy joined the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan (CMCP) after 9/11 incident and had so far commanded the Coalition Task Force-150 five times. Due to Pakistan Navy's proactive stance and operations, not a single terrorism-related incident has occurred in its area of operation. Pakistan is well on its way in indigenous production of naval vessels such as Mines Counter Measures Vessels, Submarines, Destroyers and Missile Boats, the statement said./end