Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim has said that no single country can guarantee their own security alone.
Minister of Defence Nazim made this remark speaking at the launching ceremony of the India-Maldives-Sri Lanka Tri-Lateral Exercise ‘DOSTI’/
He said that no single nation could guarantee the security across the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean on its own regardless how powerful the country is.
“This is not a secret. It is incorrect to believe that a single nation can guarantee the security across the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean,” he said.
The Minister said that these excercises will help make the Indian Ocean a safe passage for travelers. He said that this exercise will also strengthen the bond between India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
The Joint Exercise – DOSTI between the Indian Coast Guard and MNDF was held for the first time in 1991, since then 11 editions of the exercise have taken place. Sri Lanka joined the 11th edition of exercise in 2012, thus making it a trilateral exercise.
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 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.