Virtual Trilateral Table Top Exercise (TTX) – 2021 was conducted on 14 and 15 July 2021 with the participation of the India-Maldives-Sri Lanka Navy. It is being coordinated by the Maritime Warfare Centre, Mumbai. The exercise came at a time when the success of Operation Sagar Aaraksha 2 was executed with seamless cooperation between the navies, MV X Press Pearl.
The virtual exercise is aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and exchange of best practices and procedures for countering common trans-national maritime crime like curbing narcotics and assistance in Maritime Search and Rescue in the region.
The senior officers who participated in the inaugural session of TTX-2021 on 14 July included, Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh CSO (Ops), Western Naval Command, Indian Navy; Rear Admiral PS Mahawithana, Director General Operations, Sri Lanka Navy; and Colonel Hilmy from Maldives National Defence Force.
After the implementation of SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region) and ‘Neighbourhood First’, the interaction between the three countries in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR) has grown immensely.
In the Fourth National Security Adviser (NSA)-level trilateral meeting held in November last year, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, India, and Maldives agreed to enhance the maritime security cooperation in the IOR.
