KARACHI: The Pakistan Navy and Royal Malaysian Navy on Sunday conducted bilateral exercise MalPak-II at Karachi.
Royal Malaysian Navy Ships KD Kasturi and KD Mahawangsa had arrived in Karachi on Feb 7 to participate in the Multinational Exercise, AMAN-19.
Upon completion of the exercise, Malaysian ships also participated in bilateral exercise MALPAK-Il with Pakistan Navy. This is the second exercise of MALPAK series; the first was conducted after completion of multinational LIMA exercise in Malaysian waters.
Pakistan Navy ships, Saif, with embarked helicopter Z9EC, PNS AZMAT and Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft (LRMP) participated in the exercise. The bilateral exercise included joint planning and coordination at harbour followed by execution of the planned serials at sea.
The activities of the harbour phase comprised pre-sail conference, visits to training facilities and communication checks. Personnel of visiting ships also participated in sports fixtures.
Moreover, reception dinner was also held onboard PNS Saif in the honour of visiting ships. Sea phase of exercise encompassed the entire spectrum of naval operations including anti-surface, anti-air and search and rescue exercises.
Pakistan and Malaysia enjoy longstanding brotherly relations. Both countries cooperate in diverse fields of trade and military collaboration.
In the maritime domain, Pakistan and Royal Malaysian navies have come a long way in terms of participation in multinational/bilateral exercises and exhibitions.
The visit of Royal Malaysian Navy ships to Pakistan for the AMAN Exercise followed by bilateral exercise will further strengthen mutual collaboration and interoperability between the two navies.