UAE-Turkey conduct counter-piracy naval exercises

The UAE and Turkey will conduct counter-piracy naval exercises on Sunday to promote security and stability at sea, while contributing to the world's peace, a top naval official said on Wednesday. "Our mission is a counter-piracy operation, to deter the piracy at sea in the Gulf of Aden in the internationally recognized transiting corridor and Arabian sea and in the Indian ocean and conducting naval diplomacy," said Rear Admiral Sinan Ertugrul, Commander of the Turkish Task Force. Speaking on board the Turkish warship TCG Barbaros, docked at Mina Zayed, the first such high Turkish rank to visit the UAE, praised the Emirati navy as "very capable and very powerful." Special forces from the UAE stormed a hijacked ship in the Arabian Sea, east of Oman, in early April, rescuing the crew and capturing all of the pirates who had seized the vessel only a day before. The operation was conducted in co-ordination with the Bahrain-based US 5th fleet. During his 5-day visit, Admiral Ertugrul will have talks with his Emirati counterpart Commander of the UAE Naval Forces, Staff. Brigadier Ibrahim Salem Al Baloushi on means to promote the abiity of the two countries to work together and share intelligence and expertise. Admiral Ertugrul stressed piracy is a threat to peace and prosperity not in the region only but worldwide because piracy has a great effect on maritime trade and security. We coordinate all the activities we conduct with all the forces in the area, it is not national, it is very well organized and coordinated. As part of its global anti-piracy mission, Turkey is deploying four frigates, which conducted joint exercises with Oman. Similar joint training exercises will be conducted with Qatar, Pakistan, India, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. From / Gulf News