The Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka will begin the 15th edition of the joint biennial military exercise, 'Trilateral Joint Exercise Dhosthi' on Saturday.
The Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said Indian Coast Guard vessels, ICGS Vajra, ICGS Apoorva and, Sri Lanka Coast Guard, SLCGS Suraksha has arrived at Maldives for the exercise. The exercise will be conducted rom 20 to 24 November 2021. This year marks 30 years since the initiation of the exercise.
The aim of India-Maldives-Sri Lanka Tri-Lateral Exercise ‘DOSTI’ is to further fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability and to build cooperation between the Coast Guards of Maldives, India and Sri Lanka. Exercises carried out over the past ten years focused on exercises and drills on providing assistance in sea accidents, the responsibility on the Coast Guard on eliminating sea pollution, and the Coast Guard's procedure and conduct during situations such as oil spills.
Exercise Dhosthi was initiated in 1991, and the Maldives and Indian Coast Guard have collaborated on conducting the exercise since then. Sri Lanka joined the exercise for the first time in 2012.
