Maldives and India have commenced a joint military and tactical training to counter terror attacks and threats in such scenarios. The two-week long, eighth edition of the Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, Exercise Ekuverin 2017, will be conducted at Belagavi, in Karnataka State of India.
The bilateral annual exercise is a 14-day joint-military training between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), which is held alternatively in India and Maldives since 2009. The previous exercise was held at the Maldivian island of Kadhdhoo, in December, 2016.
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) will be represented by a team comprising 2 officers and 43 military personals of other ranks.
The main focus of the exercise is to acquaint both armies with operating procedures in the backdrop of a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist operations in an urban or semi-urban environment under the United Nations Charter, with an overall aim to enhance interoperability between the two armies.
India and Maldives have had long military allies with one remarkable notation of India's relentless efforts by Indian army during the ill-fated Sri Lanka rebel-led coup on November 3rd, 1988. The terror offensive was foiled eventually with India's extension of an assisting hand in capturing the fleeing rebel militants.