Maiden IN-EUNAVFOR Exercise

Maiden IN-EUNAVFOR Exercise

Part of: GS Prelims and GS II – International Relations

In news 

• Indian Naval Ship Trikand, mission deployed for Anti-Piracy Operations, participated in the maiden IN – EUNAVFOR Joint Naval Exercise in the Gulf of Aden. 
• Coordinated by: European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR).

• • Along with Indian Navy, other naval forces are from Italy, Spain and France.
  • The naval exercise included advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, tactical manoeuvres, Search & Rescue, and other maritime security operations.

• EUNAVFOR and the Indian Navy converge on multiple issues including counter piracy operations and protection of vessels deployed under the charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).
• The two navies also have regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and Deconfliction) meetings held annually at Bahrain.

ABout Gulf of Aden

• The Gulf of Aden is also known as the Gulf of Berbera.
• It is a deepwater gulf between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, Socotra (Yemen), and Somalia to the south. (See the map)
• In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, and it connects with the Arabian Sea to the east.
• To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti.
• The waterway is part of the important Suez Canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean.

Pic courtesy: Wikipedia