Defence Officials from India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives participated in a virtual Trilateral Tabletop Exercise 2021 (TTX-2021), ‘Exercise Shield’ on Maritime Security. Exercise Shield was organized by Maritime Warfare Centre, Mumbai from July 14-15, 2021.
- Enhancing mutual understanding, exchanging best practices & procedures for countering common transnational crimes like curbing narcotics and assistance in maritime search and rescue were discussed.
Key Points
i.India is holding discussions with countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as per its ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)’ policies.
ii.During the 4th National Security Adviser (NSA)-level trilateral meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2020, India along with Sri Lanka and Maldives agreed to enhance maritime security cooperation in the IOR.
Operation Sagar Aaraksha II
Recently, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in coordination with Sri Lankan Navy & Airforce executed ‘Operation Sagar Aaraksha II’ to fight a major fire onboard the MV X-Press Pearl, a chemical laden container vessel anchored off Colombo.
- Although the fire was doused successfully, the ship sank off Sri Lanka’s coast.
- It was loaded with 325 metric tonnes of fuel in its tanks, and was loaded with 25 tonnes of hazardous nitric acid.
- Environmentalists termed it as one of the worst ecological disasters in Sri Lanka’s history.
Recent Related News:
November 23, 2020, The 2nd Edition of SITMEX-20 – A Trilateral Naval Exercise between Indian Navy, Royal Thai Navy (RTN) & Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) took place from November 21-22, 2020 at the Andaman Sea.
About Sri Lanka
President – Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Capital – Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Currency – Sri Lankan Rupee
About Maldives
President – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Capital – Male
Currency – Maldivian Rufiyaa
