The Maldives National Defence Force’s (MNDF) coastguard will be conducting the 12th edition of the ‘Dosti’ joint military exercise with the Indian and Sri Lankan coastguards from October 28 to 31.
The Indian High Commission explained in a press statement yesterday that 11 editions of the joint exercise have taken place since 1991.
“The aim of India-Maldives-Sri Lanka Tri-Lateral Exercise ‘DOSTI’ is to further fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability and to build cooperation between the Coast Guards of Maldives, India and Sri Lanka,” the press release stated.
“The focus areas during Dosti-XII will be to exercise the important charter of Coast Guard duties, including Maritime Search and Rescue (M-SAR), Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Marine Pollution Response (POLRES) and Anti-piracy operations.
“For the first time the exercise will also be viewed by representatives from maritime forces of Seychelles and Mauritius.”
The military vessels involved in the exercise – two ships from the Indian coastguard, one from Sri Lanka, and two from Maldives – “will practise responding to actual emergencies of Search and Rescue, Medical evacuation and Pollution Control response at Sea which will further enhance the ability of each Coast Guard to attend to real emergencies at sea.”