Pakistan Navy (PN) is gearing-up for AMAN-11

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Pakistan Navy (PN) is gearing-up for AMAN-11, in which Navies of forty-nine countries have been invited to participate in SOF, B. Tactical, and War at Sea exercises over the North ******* Sea in March 2011. The first of the series of AMAN Exercises was held in March 2007, which proved to be a major success. During this exercise 14 Ships from the Navies of Bangladesh, China, France, Italy, Malaysia, UK and USA participated. In addition to that, SOF/EOD teams from Bangladesh and Turkey also participated in Special Operation Forces (SOF) Exercises and 21 countries attended the exercise as observers. AMAN-09 was held in March 2009. During this Exercise 23 ships, 13 Aircraft and 9 SOF teams of Australia, Bangladesh, China, France, Japan, Malaysia, UK, Nigeria, Turkey and USA participated. Observers from 27 countries also attended the exercise.

The resounding success of the first two AMAN exercises, prompted PN to expand the number of participants in AMAN-11. Thirty-nine navies are participating in the current exercise including those with assets as well as observer countries. Navies with assets include: Australia, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sri-Lanka, United Kingdom and USA. The AMAN exercises hold a lot of importance as they define and help improve the level of operational readiness, war- preparedness, task-accomplishment, Refine Command, control and communication procedures and tactics. Additionally, the war-games will enhance inter-operability and tactical proficiency, develop common tactics against asymmetric air, surface, and mine threats, promote ASuW / Air operations and its related interoperability between the participating unit, lethality of force, Survivability for the armed service. The international perspective of AMAN helps the PN meet international standards and integrate into the global system of maritime security at the same time the Pakistan’s naval forces also get a chance to showcase its military prowess. Maritime route is predominantly the most utilized means for global trade. The world is faced with ever increasing security threats due to terrorism and piracy which has sharply risen in the past decade. Hence, international trade can be adversely affected if the capabilities, tactical communication and coordination within the coalition forces are not bolstered. Integrated international exercises like AMAN are aimed at improving the working relationships amongst the coalition partners’ forces. Thus the operational readiness can be boosted to the levels required to tackle the security threats posed, thus enabling the coalition forces to effectively maintain maritime stability for international trade.

When it comes to joint operations with other countries, PN has always extended a helping hand to maintain peace, emphasizing its slogan for AMAN-11: “Together for Peace.” With the participation of 39 Navies, PN is endeavouring to establish an understanding between the cross cutting cleavages, encompassing maritime security operations, anti-terrorist operations and humanitarian assistance operations. Enhanced cooperation will definitely go miles in improving Response Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (RTTP) to build a sound preparedness level against conventional and non-conventional threats.

One of the key features of AMAN-11 is the showcasing of PN’s latest addition to its fleet: the F-22p Frigates. Everything ranging from the men in white to weapon systems will be gauged and bench-marked. A range of Surface Tactical Exercises are going to be held, included but not limited to; “Basic Communication Exercises” , “Go Fast Attack”, the tricky “Night Encounter Exercises”, etc. Air Tactical Exercises encompassing “Cross Deck Landings”, “ASV Strikes”, leading to exercises of the likes of “LRMP Interdiction/LRMP fighter evasion exercises”, “Search and Rescue” will be conducted.

The Special Operations Forces Exercises will include: HVBSS Operations, SVBSS Operations, Static line and Freefall water Jumps, Special Purpose Insertion and Extraction (SPIE) Operations, EOD Exercises, Maritime Counter Terrorist Exercises, Close Quarter Combat (CQC) Exercises, Frogman Exercises, and VBSS Operations during MIO. War at Sea Exercise (WASEX) will commence just before the closure of the sea phase. For this Exercise the participating Units will be divided into two task forces Blue and Orange. WASEX is going to incorporate Air-surface Warfare exercises as well as Anti-Air Warfare exercises.

Pakistan Navy has established its reputation in the arena of global maritime security by orchestrating AMAN-07, AMAN-09 and now AMAN-11. Pakistan holds a significant responsibility of maritime security, as 90% of the energy trade is carried out through the ******* Sea. Approximately 15 million barrels of oil are shipped through the ******* Sea. PN, a component of the coalition forces, has the responsibility of providing freedom of navigation and uninterrupted flow of trade to avoid any adverse effects on the global economy. PN has been a member of Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan since 2004 and has successfully commanded TF-150 four times, which is a tribute to its professionalism and honour for the country. Pakistan is now also a part of the new US led multinational Task Force-151 for counter-piracy operations. The upcoming AMAN-11 will also increase PN’s already well-established reputation of excellence by multiple magnitudes. This will also give the navy a chance to take on the helm of the recently established TF-151.

AMAN-11 will be instrumental in enhancing the tactical and operational readiness amongst its participating navies. Apart from the strategic relevance, existing ties between the participants will be augmented. Limelight will also be shed on the strategic importance of the North ******* Sea and the Indian Ocean. In doing so, Pakistan Navy’s geographical significance will be further magnified. Owing to Pakistan’s strategic location it is essential for our country to build this country’s maritime sector and to strengthen its navy, and leave a mark on friends and foes with such endeavours.

Pakistan Navy has always strived to maintain the highest echelons of “operational readiness” Come March 2011, Pakistan Navy will remove the spring-line on AMAN-11 and will play a leading role in preparing for peace. This endeavour is in consonance with Sun Tzu’s dictum: “In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace. The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence under no circumstances can it be neglected.”

—The author is an instructor at the National Defence University.

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Shafei Moiz Hali

China: ‘Pakistan is our Israel’

China: ‘Pakistan is our Israel’

The world’s most populous country is showing more international assertiveness, which bothers the US.
China’s foreign relations are increasingly influenced by state run energy companies, study says [GALLO/GETTY]
When a US delegate once confronted a Chinese diplomat about Beijing‘s uncompromising support for Pakistan, the Chinese reportedly responded with a heavily-loaded sarcastic remark: “Pakistan is our Israel”.
But judging by China’s unrelenting support for some of its allies, including North Korea, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, its protective arm around these countries is no different from the US and Western political embrace of Israel – right or wrong.
While China is battling the West over exchange rates, import tariffs and its territorial claims in the South China Sea, Beijing is also lobbying furiously to stall a Western- inspired proposal for a Commission of Inquiry on possible war crimes by the military junta in Burma (Myanmar).
“Such a commission should not be seen as a way to punish the government, but to prevent impunity and help prevent further abuse,” says the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana.
But China, which in January 2007 exercised its veto, along with Russia, to prevent Security Council sanctions against Burma, has not shown any willingness to back the proposal – even for a watered-down commission.
“Clearly,” says one Asian diplomat, “China is trying to reassert its political clout at the United Nations as a counterweight to its defensive stand on currency and trade issues.”
The New York Times newspaper said on Tuesday that the US administration is facing a “confrontational relationship” with an assertive China and is trying to respond to “a surge of Chinese triumphalism” by strengthening Washington’s relationship with Japan and South Korea.
US President Barack Obama is planning to visit four Asian countries next month – Japan, Indonesia, India and South Korea – while bypassing China.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who needs China’s support in the Security Council if he decides to run for a second term next year, is currently on his fourth trip to China, having visited the country in May and July 2008, and in July 2009.
In recent months, China has prevented a Security Council resolution against North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean ship and also tried to suppress a UN report alleging the use of Chinese-made bullets in attacks on UN peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan.
“China sees value in promoting its image as the Security Council member defending the rights of the developing world, and China sees value in relying on the UN to counter US power,” said Linda Jakobson, director of the programme on China and Global Security at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Jakobson, an in-house China expert at SIPRI, points out that Beijing also sees value in participating in UN peacekeeping operations “both because this enhances the image of China as a responsible power but also because it gives Chinese military experience”.
Still, China relented to US and Western pressure in supporting four Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions against Iran, one of Beijing’s staunchest political, economic and military allies.
The fourth round of sanctions, all of them aimed primarily at Iran’s nuclear programme, was imposed in June this year.
Justifying his country’s support for the resolution, Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong was quoted as saying that Beijing wanted to make sure that sanctions would not affect the Iranian people or its normal overseas trade.
Jakobson said that China agreed to these sanctions after much deliberation and on the condition that the energy sector was excluded.
“This can be seen as a compromise solution on China’s part,” she said. “The exclusion of the energy sector was crucial.”
Jakobson also pointed out that China wants to protect the massive investments by Chinese energy companies already in Iran or under negotiation with Tehran, and China wants to ensure that its long-term strategic plans for energy security are not threatened.
In a detailed policy paper released last month, and titled “New Foreign Policy Actors in China”, SIPRI said the increasing sway of large state-owned energy companies have an increasing influence on foreign policy deliberations in China.
Jakobson, who co-authored the report with Dean Knox, said this is one example of that sway though it is noteworthy that there are other foreign policy actors who presumably were not inclined to advocate China’s support of the resolution.
On the other hand, she said, there were presumably actors who advocated China’s support for the resolution because China supports non-proliferation and does not want to see Iran go nuclear.
“If China had not supported the resolution, it would reflect badly on China’s image and undermine its efforts to portray itself as a responsible global power,” Jakobson said.
She said China attaches great importance to the United Nations and would like to see the role of the UN strengthened – though Beijing is wary of many proposals that want to expand Security Council membership and/or give power to members other than the present five permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
The SIPRI report argues that actors outside the traditional power structure are increasingly shaping China’s foreign policy.
Influential new actors on the margins include Chinese state- owned enterprises, especially energy companies, which, due to their widespread international outreach, affect China’s bilateral relationships and diplomacy at large.
The others include local governments, especially in border and coastal provinces, which seek more lucrative trade and foreign investment opportunities.
At the same time, there is growing importance of researchers, who serve as advisors to officials and media, and netizens, who constitute a new pressure group that China’s leaders at times feel compelled to take into account, not least during international crises.
The findings also point to a fracturing of authority in foreign policy formulation.
Diversification outside China’s official decision making apparatus – along with changes within it – means that foreigners can no longer expect to only deal with one government agency or Party organ but must take into account multiple actors that have both a stake and say in the decision-making processes.
A version of this article first appeared on the Inter Press Service News Agency.