Pakistan Navy's plan to hold naval exercise off Trincomalee scrapped following India's concerns

Trincomalee's strategic importance in the Indian Ocean region highlighted as India expresses concerns over Pakistan-Sri Lanka naval exercise plan.

A plan to hold a military exercise between the navies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the strategic waters of Trincomalee was shelved a few weeks back, after New Delhi conveyed its concerns to Colombo over the proposed drills, multiple sources have said.

Trincomalee is situated on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast and is considered a significant hub in the Indian Ocean region, especially for India's maritime security interests.

The sources said the Navies of the two countries had planned to carry out the exercise off Trincomalee, in line with their regular engagements.

The plan did not go through after India apprised its apprehensions over the exercise to the Sri Lankan side, they told PTI.

The joint exercise was planned weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Colombo, the sources said.

The Navies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka are known to have cordial relations and warships from both countries visit each other's ports regularly, besides carrying out wargames.

There was no official word on the plan either from Sri Lanka or Pakistan.