The Maldives has held a bilateral, inter-agency counter-terrorism exercise from August 7-17 in the Greater Male’ Region, called Tempest Wind 22.
Tempest Wind 22 was the eleventh iteration of the Tempest Wind series of military exercises, and it was the fourth time it was hosted in the Maldives. The exercises are part of United States (US) Indo-Pacific Command’s military-to-military engagement programme and are conducted with nations throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Several agencies of the Maldives, as well as the US, participated in the exercise. The experience gained during Tempest Wind 22 contributes to the ability to respond to terrorist incidents as well as crises across a range of military operations.
The exercise rehearsed the counter-terrorism strategy detailed in the National Terrorism Response Plan (NTRP) of the Maldives, to enhance interoperability between the Maldivian agencies and international partners in rapidly responding to crises. The exercise was the first of its kind, assessing the whole government's response to crises, and enabling the better implementation of the NTRP.