Zaki Khalid | TX Desk
The Pakistan Navy, guardian of the country's waterways, coastal areas and strategic hotspots has kicked-off its annual 'SEASPARK' maritime exercises on Monday, the 18th of September 2012. Navy officials announced that the exercises would be held in the North Arabian Sea.
These exercises come at the necessary time when world powers are lobbying over Syria with Russia routinely sending its patrol boats and ships to the crisis-laden state on one hand and on the other, we have the US and more than two dozen of its allies preparing to hold the International Mines Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX-12) in strategic locations which include the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
PREPARED TO MEET REGIONAL THREATS
Besides the conundrum on Syria, the other major point of concern is the tense stand-off taking place between the US-Israel and Iran, with either sides frequently provoking each other for a war that could set the entire region on fire; this includes not only the Middle East and GCC states but also South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India).
Pakistan's military establishment, maintaining a quiet but watchful stance, is fully prepared to meet the strategic multi-pronged threats which the country could face from three sides: Incursion by US Special Operations Forces from Afghanistan, from the coastline of Sindh and Balochistan in the south and from its archrival India which lies to its east. In case a mishap with Iran is triggered, which at the moment seems unlikely and merely a trending verbal threat considering the losses already being suffered by the US, NATO and ISAF in Afghanistan, the US military will finally be compelled to declare open warfare which will then let the world notice Pakistan's defensive strategy which has been under simulation for the past couple of years especially since General Kayani assumed charge as Chief of the Army Staff.
Military sources say that Kayani is paving way to start a new series of the Azm-e-Nau military exercises which cover all aspects of national security in complete operational steadiness. In this regard, the Strategic Plans Division held various simulated warfare drills (both offence/defence) from time to time, including the famous exercise Ababeel 2012 (latest) in which elite strategy planners instructed the armed forces for carrying out mock attacks on enemy bases overseas including those in Qatar, among others.
SEASPARK-12 A SIGN OF PROGRESS AND COMMITMENT
Coming back to the news at hand, it is refreshing to note that the Pakistan Navy has finally decided to hold a comprehensive set of exercises in which all its assets including ships, patrol boats, fast-attack crafts, submarines, aircraft, marines and naval special forces will duly participate. Additionally, aerial support forces (Pakistan Air Force) and terrestrial (Pakistan Army) will also be pitching up against each other for mock attacks and efficient countermeasures.
Critics have declared this a move which has come at too late a time but I strongly believe the timing of these exercises could not be better and more appropriate. It has not been long since the Navy set up and formally inaugurated its Naval Strategic Force Headquarters which is dedicated to real-time threat assessment of the security risks which the country faces from hostile maritime forces. Hopefully, the SEASPARK exercises taking place this year will help the Pakistani armed forces to improve anti-terrorist combat and also improvise take-out techniques for the special forces commandos so that disastrous strategic blows such as that which took place during the PNS Mehran attack can be avoided in the future.
In May this year, it was reported that the Indian Navy had set up a new surveillance base INS Dweeprakshak in the Lakshadweep Islands (Arabian Sea). The ongoing exercises seem to flex a muscle towards India also.
Photo by ISPR shows Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila and Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai Director General Strategic Plans Division offering dua after inaugurated the newly constructed Headquarters of the Naval Strategic Force Command on May 19, 2012.
Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila, Chief of Pakistan's Naval Staff has put special emphasis on 'Operational Readiness and Training', and rightly so: The possibility of a regional war apparently for control of the Strait of Hormuz but in actuality for security of Israel is very likely. These are not plain drums of war being beaten by an analyst like myself on the laptop but my concerns stem from the precarious geopolitical quagmire forming on either sides of the Red Sea. We have a new wave of militant terrorism in the Sinai being fanned by proxy Islamists who some say are backed by the Mossad whereas a few Arab military souces imply it is Iran behind-the-scenes. Similarly, a new situation is at hand where according to Reuters, the US has deployed about 50 Marines to San'aa in Yemen after a fresh wave of violence has gripped the Muslim world after the notorious blasphemy video according to a well-devised strategy by Israel.
Coming yet again back to track for relevance to this particular piece, readers might have understood the brief backdrop that I have tried to present. There is a saying among Pakistan's military analysts, that compared to the air and ground forces, Pakistan Navy lags behind; that also, a lot in regards to rigorous controlled training. I have high hopes that SEASPARK will live upto its expectations as a sigh of relief and breath of fresh air since Pakistan faces as much considerable a threat from its South like it does from the West and East.
Additionally, it must always be kept in mind that Pakistan, not Iran, has the nuclear stockpile which hostile nations are after.
