India, Sri Lanka, Maldives begin joint Coast Guard Exercises

Indian Coast Guard began a trilateral Coast Guard exercise DOSTI XI off the coast of Male (Maldives).
The five day India-Maldives-Sri Lanka Joint Coast Guard exercise – DOSTI XI is currently being held off the coast of Male (Maldives) from 23-27 April 2012.

This exercise originally started in 1991 as a bilateral and bi-annual India-Maldives exercise with the objective of strengthening co-operation between Indian and Maldivian Coast Guards with a view to enhancing mutual capabilities for search and rescue operations, combating piracy and armed robbery, damage control and casualty evacuation at sea for safer seas.

The present expansion of the Joint training exercises to include Sri Lanka from 2012 onwards marks an important milestone in the evolution of this exercise as some of the world’s most important trade routes and Sea Lines of Communication run through the waters of these three countries.

DOSTI-XI exercises aim to strengthen the bonds of friendship and enhance the mutual operational capability and cooperation between the forces of the three participating countries and would focus on Maritime Search and Rescue, Marine Pollution Response and Boarding Operations.

In this round of exercises, two Indian Coast Guard Ships – Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Sankalp and ICGS Subhadra and an ICG Dornier Aircraft would take part along with three Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Coast Guard vessels - Huravee, Ghazee and Shaheed Ali from the Maldivian side and an offshore patrol vessel Sri Lankan Naval Ship Sagara from the Sri Lankan Navy.

The importance of the exercise can be gauged from the fact that opening remark was made by the Defence Minister of the Maldives Mohammad Nazim and is being attended by Indian Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan, Sri Lankan Coast Guard Director General Rear Admiral Ruwan Dias, Commandant MNDF Coast Guard, Brigadier General Ahmed Shahid.