“Possession of sea power Increases a country’s prestige, security and influence. Weakness at sea loads to political and strategic blunders.”
Pakistan Navy (PN) has come a long way from a developingstage to a credible medium-sizenaval power, fully capablein all dimensions to fulfill its national obligations. Particularly securing lifeline of sea-borne trade on which Pakistan depends so heavily. Despite smallness of its size, PN has also been a source of comfort for the smaller navies of the South Asia against the hegemonic ambitions of those endeavoring to dominate Indian Ocean Pakistan’s has also been a great ambassador of the UN Charter of “peaceful co-existence” and has been the biggest contributor of troops for the UN peacekeeping missions across the globe.
Pakistan Navy has undertaken several peace initiatives to promote harmony and cooperation in the region as well as achieve interoperability with other navies for promoting maritime security in its neighborhood and proximate regions. Besides ensuring seaward defence of Pakistan and protecting SLOCs. PN has contributed a great deal in the security architecture of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the form of Regional Maritime Security Patrol, Bilateral Regional Naval Exercises, Port Visits, Coordinated Patrols as well as participation in Combined Task Force CTF-150 and CTF-151 etc. thus: demonstrating PN’s capability to operate in sensitive sea spaces far from home base which is usually considered as an attribute of Blue Navy.
Exercise AMAN series has been a great peace initiative and key international event since 2007 which is being held biennially by Pakistan Navy. The aim of AMAN series exercises is “to promote regional cooperation and stability, greater interoperability and present a united front and resolve against piracy, terrorism and crimes in maritime domain.” The exercise concept is”to develop Responses, Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (RTTPs) against non-traditional threats through tactical warfare planning followed by high-end warfare serials at sea, such as: Naval Gun Fire, Vessel Boarding Search & Seize (VBSS), anti-piracy operations, Combined Anti-Submarine exercise, Communication, Boarding and Air Defence.”
AMAN-2021 is the 7th biennial exercise in series since 2007. AMAN exercise was conducted in 2007 in which 28 countries participated with naval assets and 29 observers 2′ AMAN exercise was conducted in 2009 in which 24 countries participated with naval assets and 29 observers. 3′ AMAN exercise was conducted in 2011 in which 28 countries participated with naval assets and 43 observers. 4′ AMAN exercise was conducted in 2013 in which 29 countries participated with naval assets and 36 observers 5′ AMAN exercise was conducted in 2017 in which 34 countries participated with naval assets and 67 observers. The last one, 6′ AMAN exercise was conducted in 2019 in which 46 countries participated with naval assets and 113 observers. Rising number of participants in AMAN exercise series with warships from countries as disparate as the US, Russia. China, France, Japan, UK, Turkey and Australia etc. is a good measure of AMAN success and wider appeal in the comity of regional as well as extra regional navies.
Naval diplomacy involves maritime activities that fall in the spectrum which is less dangerous and where power is exploited rather than force expended. It is because naval forces are more flexible, mobile and they are less prone to liability especially if things go wrong and can be extracted much easily as compared to land or air forces. Once the army marches, it leaves behind its signs of the passage whereas once navy moves there is only an infrequent trail from the deck suggesting its passage but reveals nothing of its course or destination. That is why Navy can make a balanced contribution to national and international stability. A renowned naval admiral Lord Nelson said, “I hate your pen-and-ink men; a fleet of British ships are the best negotiators in Europe.” Therefore, AMAN Exercise series provides tremendous leverage in the domain of naval diplomacy, thus; creating conducive environment for the attainment of Pakistan’s foreign policy objectives.
Indian Ocean Region is undergoing tremendous geo-strategic and geo-economic changes which have accentuated host of challenges for the regional navies. Consequently, security environment has also undergone tectonic shift in the regional and global maritime trade. The growth of maritime shipping indicates an increase in security requirement around SLOCs as there has been tremendous increase in gun-running, human trafficking, narcotics, piracy as well as in Illegal Unregulated and Unauthorized Fishing. Because of vastness of the high seas and uncertainty about the destination and course of vessels, there are fewer chances of a successful interception of a threat. Famous naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan said, “Even the strongest great powers were incapable of unilaterally defending a worldwide system of maritime commerce.”
Therefore, AMAN exercise series reinforces the idea that no one nation can single-handedly address the quantum of threats in maritime domain, especially the non-traditional ones. AMAN Exercise provides the needed platform and environment for the regional and extra regional navies to promote regional cooperation and stability; enhance greater interoperability; and present a united front and resolve against piracy, terrorism and other crimes related to maritime domain. It also helps projecting Pakistan’s positive image and consolidating PN stature as a maritime power contributing towards regional peace and stability. The need for regional collaboration in maritime domain would further increase with the realization of the projects related to China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC), especially the Gwadar port that is fast emerging as a pivot for the CPEC and New Great Game.
AMAN-2021 would go a long way for enhancement of tactical interoperability between regional and extra-regional navies, thereby acting as a bridge between regions; development of coalition-building; and validation of RTTPs. It would surely help projection of Pakistan’s positive image and consolidation of PN stature as a navy contributing towards regional peace and stability as well as provision of a platform to several navies to interact with each other and develop mutual understanding of their cultures.
