The navies of India and Sri Lanka carried out joint naval exercises, including gun firings and communication procedures, as part of the Sri Lanka-India Exercise 2024 SLINEX 24.
The joint exercise was conducted in two phases from December 17 to 20 at Visakhapatnam under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command in two phases.
The harbour phase was held on 17 and 18 and the sea phase from 19 to 20.
During the harbour phase, the participants engaged in professional and social exchanges, while the sea phase saw joint exercises by special forces of both the navies, gun firings, communication procedures, seamanship as well as navigation evolutions and helicopter operations.
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SLINEX series of bilateral exercises were initiated in 2005, and since then regular exercises have been conducted.
"The current edition of the exercise has further strengthened the ties between the two maritime neighbours and contributed towards creating a safe and rule-based Maritime domain, thereby taking forward the government of India’s resolve and vision of Security And Growth for All in the Region," the defence ministry said in a release.