Minister Nazim: No single nation can guarantee security in Indian Ocean region

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim said that it would be unreasonable to assume that a single nation could guarantee the security across the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean region on its own.

In the ceremony held today to inaugurate “Dosti 12”, the trilateral exercise of three nations, Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, Minister Nazim said that it would be unreasonable to assume that a single nation, however powerful, could guarantee the security across the maritime domain in the Indian ocean region on its own.

“It is no secret that a country on its own cannot cater for all its defence needs in today’s globalized environment. This being the case, it would be unreasonable to assume that a single nation, however powerful, could guarantee the security across the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean region on its own,” said Minister Nazim.

He further said that the waters of Indian Ocean region are crisscrossed with the sea lines of communication that accounts for a substantial amount of global energy and commercial trade, and that it is the collective responsibility of the countries in this region, to ensure the security and safety of these routes.

Ambassador of India to the Maldives Rajeev Shahare, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Maldives, and senior officials of coastguard of Maldives, India and Sri Lanka participated in the inauguration of Dosti 12 exercise.

The joint training exercise between Indian and Maldivian coastguard started in 1991 and Sri Lanka has participated in this exercise from 2012 onwards. This exercise allows the participants to share their expertise and experience on a variety of maritime security and operational matters.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said that a navy from Sri Lanka coastguard, two navies from India coastguard, a helicopter and a Donia Airplane would be used in this exercise.