International organisations work towards collective good and therefore no state has any plans for further collaborations. The participation in IMX 22 will not bring forward any collaboration between the two countries. Participating in international coalitions have never been a platform to bring countries to-gether unwillingly. One such example is the United Nations. The United Nations has so many member states including Israel and the country’s other neme-sis which has not affected any of Pakistan’s in-volvement whatsoever. Such international coalitions aim for countries to co-exist and fight for commonly faced illicit activities. So is the purpose of the IMX 22.
While having a conversation with the Naval expert, he stated, “We cannot put ourselves into isolation”. IMX 22 is solely dedicated to securing the region from the non-traditional threats present in the regional waters. In order to stop illicit activities such as piracy, smuggling arms and ammunitions, drug, and human trafficking and to secure the energy lines, every country in the region is assigned with the role of a Policeman by the United States. The Naval experts also highlighted that the type of participation Israel is supposed to have in the exercise is still not mentioned.
Even so, their activity area will be the red sea whereas in the exercise Pakistan’s area of concern will be the Arabian sea. Both the countries will be present in the exercise but will be participate in different groups based on their own area of concern. Also, it is not just Pakistan, but many Muslim coun-tries are a part of the exercise such as Bahrain where the headquarter of the exercise is based, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Bangladesh, and many other countries falling in the region. All these countries share a similar interest of protecting ad securing the maritime environment close to their region from non-traditional threats.
Questions have been surfacing whether or not Paki-stan should be a part of the exercise. The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses nearly 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. The region is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Bab-al-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen. Pakistan is a vertical state with its feet in the Arabian Sea. The geostrategic significance of the country is such that with Gwadar and Gomera, all the important energy and oil transport takes place through the Arabian Sea. Not only is the country politically consequential but its sea routes are equally crucial and need to be secured. With such exceptional positioning, Pakistan is also in an revered position as the deputy commandant of the U.S IMX 22 which gives more reason for its participation. If the participation is given up, the position of deputy commandant may fall upon any of Pakistan’s nemesis which may create further tensions for the country’s very own maritime security.
