The trilateral joint military exercise, Dosti, between Maldives, India and Sri Lanka has commenced.
The exercise has been conducted jointly by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and Indian Coast Guard every two years since 1991. Sri Lanka has been taking part in the exercise since 2012.
This year marks 30 years since the initiation of the exercise. The exercise this year is being held from November 20-24.
The aim of the India-Maldives-Sri Lanka trilateral exercise is to further bolster the friendship, enhance the mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability to build cooperation between the coast guards of the three countries. The three-nation joint exercise focus on the exercises and drills on providing assistance in sea accidents, the responsibility of the coast guard on eliminating sea pollution, and the coast guard's procedure and conduct during situations such as oil spills.
It also shows the first aid procedures to rescuers at sea and the rapid transfer of the injured to the nearest hospital. The exercise also involved ways to rescue people at sea with the help of helicopters.
The exercise is being conducted by Indian Coast Guard Ship Vajra, Apoorva, Sri Lankan Coast Guard Shraksha, MNDF Coast Guard Shaheed Hussain Ali, Indian and Maldivian helicopters and Dornier aircraft.
MNDF has said the Indian Ocean experiences new threats now, such as cross-border terrorism, piracy, drug networking, arms, and weapons businesses among others. Mauritius, Seychelles and Bangladesh are taking part as observers for the exercise.