India has started Sea Vigil naval exercises, the most ambitious drills in the last 10 years, which involve about 150 ships, 40 aircraft and helicopters, the country's Navy's spokesperson told Sputnik on Wednesday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2019) India has started Sea Vigil naval exercises, the most ambitious drills in the last 10 years, which involve about 150 ships, 40 aircraft and helicopters, the country's Navy's spokesperson told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"Ten years after '26/11' [terrorist attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which claimed lives of more than 160 people], the Indian Navy commenced the largest coastal defence exercise off the Indian coast today. Exercise SEA VIGIL, a first of its kind, is being undertaken along the entire 7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and is involving all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories," the spokesperson said.
The exercise aims to comprehensively and holistically validate the efficiency of measures taken since the 2008 attack, he added.
In addition to the Indian Navy and coast guard forces, the representatives of the ministries of defense, interior affairs, shipping, oil and gas, fisheries and coastal states, are involved in organizing the exercises.
"Exercise SEA VIGIL will provide a realistic assessment of our strengths and weakness and this will certainly help further strengthening of maritime security and in turn national security," the spokesperson said.
Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy Adm. Sunil Lanba told reporters that the country had managed to eliminate all security vulnerabilities in its coastal zone in the period from 2008 to 2019. Today the control of this zone is carried out by a system of 42 radar stations, which are spread throughout the country. Their work is monitored from Gurgaon, a city southwest of New Delhi, the admiral added.
The attack on the "economic capital" of India occurred on November 26, 2008. On this day, 10 terrorists arrived in the city by sea from the Pakistani port of Karachi. Having broken up into groups, they shot people on the streets, in a cafe, at a train station, and after they sat down in five-star hotels and resisted the special forces for two days until they were killed. As many as 166 people were killed by the terrorists.
