Naval chief asks nations to ensure coordinated response

Admiral M Asif Sandila, chief of the naval staff, said on Saturday that seafaring nations needed to collaborate and assist in protecting each other’s interests in a cooperative manner as well as for deal with the emerging maritime challenges.

He said this while speaking on board a ship from where he witnessed the joint exercise, Naseem al Bahr, being conducted between the Pakistan Navy and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in Arabian Sea. An impressive demonstration of the firing of live weapons by ships and aircraft was conducted during the day.

Sandila said terrorism and piracy, being global challenges, demanded a collective and coordinated response from all stakeholders as no single country could eliminate this menace singlehandedly.

“I feel it is important for the national and global economy that a legitimate maritime order is maintained at seas.”The naval chief emphasised that the Pakistan Navy’s outreach to regional and global navies in respect of defence collaboration was a manifestation of the government’s foreign policy objectives.

He stressed that a potent and effective navy was the need of the hour. The Pakistan government, despite resource constraints, was making all the efforts to equip the navy so that it could effectively guard the national maritime interests at sea, he added.

Sandila expressed satisfaction with the successful conduct of the exercise and appreciated the strengthening of maritime cooperation between Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also thanked the Royal Saudi Naval Forces for their active participation in the exercise.



The spirited participation by RSNF units in the exercise was a clear manifestation of the common professional working culture and a strong foundation of brotherly relations that had existed between the two nations for decades, he said.Sandila, along with Royal Saudi Naval Force’s Western Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Ibrahim Othman Al Delaijan, witnessed the mega event and professional display of various other maritime maneuvers at sea. This weapon firing was the culminating event of a weeklong sea phase of the exercise.