Pakistan Navy runs an extensive calendar of exercises every year.
The Importance of Operational Readiness in Naval Exercises
The multinational AMAN drills involve naval forces from various countries, emphasizing collaboration. Meanwhile, exercises like SEASPARK focus on assessing operational coordination and combat readiness.
Understanding the difference between these drills is crucial. A navy may frequently conduct training for boarding operations, search and rescue, and anti-ship warfare. However, this does not guarantee preparedness for specific missions, such as responding to a missile attack on a commercial vessel in a remote conflict zone.
Such complex missions demand a comprehensive approach, including surveillance, early warning systems, rapid-response units, air and missile defense capabilities, effective communication with commercial shipping, and the ability to carry out rescue operations in high-stress environments.
Assessing Pakistan’s Maritime Response Capabilities
On August 11, a missile attack on the commercial vessel Tihamah in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait resulted in the deaths of six individuals, including three Pakistani crew members and one Indonesian crew member. The vessel was hit three times by ballistic missiles, and another missile was fired at rescue teams attempting to assist the crew, as reported by Yemeni authorities.
This incident raises significant concerns about Pakistan’s ability to protect its citizens in maritime conflicts, particularly those occurring far from home. The attack highlights a critical gap between general naval readiness and the specific challenge of safeguarding Pakistani nationals aboard commercial ships in active conflict zones.
The ongoing Houthi campaign against commercial shipping illustrates how rapidly a maritime security threat can escalate into a complex rescue operation. For Pakistan, the pressing question is not merely whether its navy can engage in combat at sea, but whether it possesses the necessary mechanisms to identify threats to its nationals on commercial vessels, assess these threats in real time, and implement appropriate military or civilian responses when required.
A Modernising Fleet, But For What Mission?
Its sea phase has included anti-piracy, counterterrorism, gunnery and search-and-rescue drills, as well as exercises aimed at improving interoperability between participating navies. SEASPARK has a different focus but is similarly centred on conventional naval preparedness. Previous editions have included live anti-ship missile firings and exercises intended to sharpen operational coordination. Such exercises provide valuable experience. They allow naval forces to work together, test procedures and practise responses to a range of maritime contingencies. But the scenario that unfolded in the Bab al-Mandeb was considerably more complicated. The Tihamah was struck by ballistic missiles, caught fire and was reportedly attacked again while a rescue operation was underway. The incident combined a missile threat, a burning commercial vessel and rescue personnel operating in an active conflict zone. Publicly available information on Pakistan Navy exercises does not show a drill specifically designed around protecting a Pakistani-crewed commercial vessel from a missile attack in the Red Sea or Bab al-Mandeb. The question comes at a time when the Pakistan Navy is undergoing a major modernisation programme. The fleet has been strengthened with Chinese-built Type 054A/P frigates, while the Hangor-class submarines are expected to further expand Pakistan’s underwater warfare capabilities. Pakistan has also invested in maritime surveillance and patrol platforms designed to improve its ability to monitor waters beyond its immediate coastline. The navy’s growing fleet and exercises such as AMAN have also projected a broader regional role. AMAN, in particular, gives Pakistan a platform to work with foreign navies and demonstrate its ability to coordinate multinational maritime operations. But a larger fleet does not automatically translate into preparedness for every maritime contingency. A submarine designed primarily for underwater warfare does not provide direct protection to a merchant vessel under missile attack. A frigate with air-defence capabilities, meanwhile, would require an appropriate operational mandate, location, intelligence and rules of engagement to protect a commercial ship thousands of kilometres from Pakistan. Pakistan’s publicly available defence budget documents also do not indicate a dedicated allocation for readiness in the Red Sea or Bab al-Mandeb region. Naval exercises are funded within broader operational allocations rather than through a publicly identified programme focused on protecting Pakistani nationals operating in distant high-risk shipping corridors. Thousands of Pakistani nationals work aboard commercial vessels operating on international shipping routes. Some routes pass through areas where maritime security risks can change rapidly. Pakistan responded diplomatically after the attack. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the strike, and Pakistan subsequently facilitated the return of injured Pakistani sailors and the repatriation of the remains of Pakistani victims. Pakistan Navy’s exercise programme continues to provide diplomatic value, operational experience and conventional military preparedness. AMAN strengthens ties with foreign navies. SEASPARK and other exercises allow Pakistani forces to test weapons, tactics and coordination. But the Bab al-Mandeb attack has raised a question that goes beyond the number of ships in Pakistan’s fleet or the number of countries participating in its exercises. What happens when a Pakistani citizen is attacked aboard a commercial vessel in a distant maritime conflict zone? The answer may involve the navy, the foreign ministry, maritime authorities, shipping companies and international partners rather than the navy alone.
AMAN, Pakistan Navy’s flagship multinational exercise, has been held every two years since 2007. The August 11 attack showed the consequences when a commercial vessel is caught in such an environment.
Six injured Pakistani sailors returned to Pakistan, while the remains of two Pakistani sailors were also repatriated, according to Dar.
