Pakistan, Chinese Air force begin joint exercises, ‘Shaheen-VIII’

BEIJING: The eighth annual joint exercise of Pakistan and Chinese Air forces, ‘Shaheen-VIII’, has started in northwest China, ARY News reported on Saturday.

The joint training aims to improve training standards of the two air forces through mutual learning.

It will also help enhance close relations between the two countries in general and develop a mechanism for interoperability of both air forces in particular.

Earlier on July 28, Bilateral ‘EXERCISE AYYILDIZ-2019’ between Pakistan Navy’s Special Service Group (SSG Navy) and Turkish Navy’s Special Forces, ‘Su Alti Taarruz’ (SAT) concluded at Karachi.

This series of bilateral exercise has been regularly conducted between Pakistan and Turkey on an annual basis. This being the 12th exercise in AYYILDIZ series, continued for 12 days.

The aim of the exercise was to strengthen military relationships, improve coordination & interoperability and exchange of professional expertise in Special Operations Forces’ (SOF) domain. Personnel from both navies mutually benefitted from the exercise which included Anti-Terrorism Ops, Rescue and Hostage Ops, Counterterrorism in Maritime domain and Intelligence-based operations.

The exercise is a reflection of strong bilateral military cooperation between the Pakistan Navy and the Turkish Navy.