Mehta here for Lanka-India joint naval exercise

by Ananth Palakidnar

The Service Chiefs of the Sri Lankan Armed forces and the visiting Eastern Regional Chief of the Indian Navy Vice Admiral Suresh Mehta will observe the joint exercise of the Sri Lankan and the Indian Navies code named `SLINEX'today Naval spokesperson Commodore Jayantha Perera said.

The exercise which is the first to be staged between the Navies of India and Sri Lanka commenced on Monday off the waters of Colombo. Indian Naval vessels INS Sukanya and INS Kirpan along with their Naval air wing unit had taken part in the exercise where Sri Lankan Navy vessels Samudra, Udara and Sayura were taking part.

The exercise was aimed at confronting the threats from pirates and other common problems faced by the Navies of India and Sri Lanka, spokesperson said.