On 9 May 2024, PNS Yarmook, while on a routine maritime security patrol in the North Arabian Sea heard a distress call from a vessel. The ship searched and tracked the boat in crisis and responded promptly. When Yarmook reached the scene of the incident, a boat was found engulfed in flames while the embattled crew was all overboard. It was an Iranian fishing vessel with nine people, who had the unfortunate accident nearly consuming the lives of all hands. Yarmook rescued the crew, extinguished the fire and brought them to safety. In February 2024, in another rescue operation, nine Indian seamen aboard a stranded ocean tug at 167 nautical miles southeast of Karachi, were rescued. There have been, and probably, will be countless such operations necessitating the Pakistan Navy’s, what I call the pragmatic first responder capability to bring into action.
The navies, in fact are natural first responders, as these operate in a medium, that inherently is international in character affording maritime operations under the UN Convention on Law of the Sea, 1982. The sea provides reach, flexibility and ability to remain poised to the naval forces, without legal complexities and violation of sovereignty of other states. Air and land may be restricted for the passage of men and material, but the sea remains open even in a contested environment. This allows the navies to respond to domestic and international crises with speed and effectiveness. When it comes to ‘sea-land binary,’ we know that the activities at sea are too tightly connected with what happens over land as the situation in Palestine and Yemen signifies to this fact. This is exactly what Julian Corbett posited in 1910s that at the core of a maritime strategy was to ‘influence events at land’ by acting at or from the sea.
When it comes to our part of the world, the Arabian Sea is of an immense geostrategic significance. Today it, arguably, has the largest presence of international navies and is surrounded by regions replete with conflicts and crises of diverse nature. The Arabian Sea has been witnessing an enhanced international footprint post-9/11, where the concerns of terrorism, piracy, narco-smuggling and gun running are feared high. Coupled with these sub-conventional threats and challenges in the Arabian Sea, the non-traditional threats have also been becoming conspicuous, which include but are not limited to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, non-combatant evacuation and ensuring maritime security. Under such an operating environment, the navies have to play roles beyond traditional warfighting and defence of maritime frontiers.
Pakistan Navy, as part of its ‘military operations other than war’ construct has articulate response mechanics for non-traditional and sub-conventional threats. This requires the Navy’s capacity to smoothly perform its roles from benign to constabulary roles. It is always in a ‘ready mode’ to transition across the roles, which means the gear, the human resource and the doctrinal clarity are always there empowering it to be the pragmatic first responder, irrespective of the task, the time and the locale at sea. The Navy was one of the first in the region to reach Mersin, Turkiye and Latakia, Syria to assist devastating earthquake victims in March 2023. PN ships Moawin and Nasr were ready to sail carrying massive relief goods within days of issuing instructions from the Government.
In the catastrophic Tsunami of 2004, PNS Tariq was among the first naval ships to reach the Maldives and assist in rescue operations. Tariq was able to save 377 tourists within a short time. Later on, PN ships Moawin and Khaibar sailed from Karachi with substantial relief goods and field hospital equipment for humanitarian assistance operations in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The Navy remains the frontline responder in domestic crises as well. Its role in Cyclone Yemyin, 2007; Cyclone Phet and Super Floods, 2010; and Floods, 2022, was particularly noteworthy. The Navy rescued thousands of people, provided medical relief and built shelters for the children and the homeless.
In June 2011, PN ships Babur and Zulfiquar, in a joint operation rescued MV Suez from the Somali pirates and brought the entire crew back home to safety. Though MV Suez sank because of the number of safety-related incidents human lives were saved. In April 2015, PN ships Zulfiqar and Aslat were deployed to rescue civilians from the war-ravaged zones of Yemen. The ships, acting with exceptional professional acumen and operational brilliance, were able to pull hundreds of people of various nationalities including eleven Indians. This had a positive impact on Pakistan-India relations.
From 2019 to 2022, Pakistan Navy undertook three distinct missions to circumvent Africa, with an objective to deliver relief goods to various African nations suffering from famine and natural disasters. PN ships Moawin, Nasr and Alamgir were tasked to sail from the Suez Canal to go around Africa and assist the African people in whatever way possible. PNS Nasr, in particular carried well over 1000 tons’ food items to Benin and Niger in 2020 when these countries have had severe shortage of basic essentials to sustain human life. This unique feat hasn’t been done before and Pakistan Navy can rightly claim the title of being the ‘first responder’ beyond its traditional operational space, the Arabian Sea.
Apart from rendering humanitarian assistance, Pakistan Navy has the core job of ‘preserving freedom of seas,’ which is its guiding doctrinal creed. The Navy believes in working in a ‘cooperative continuum,’ where on one hand it ensures stable order in its on its own, and on the other it works in collaborative constructs so that our seas remain safe and secure for maritime activities. Domestically, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency work through a joint collaborative mechanism that seeks to keeping the North Arabian Sea crime-free. On several occasions, drug smugglers, human traffickers and poachers have been captured or their attempts thwarted, thereby preserving good order at sea.
Cumulatively, the humanitarian work and maritime security operations indicate that Pakistan Navy is the primary force to arrive at the scene of maritime emergencies or crises, not just in the Arabian Sea but at other locations in the Indian Ocean and beyond. As a Pragmatic First Responder, Pakistan Navy has provided and will continue to provide swift assistance, rescue and relief operations to protect lives, secure vessels and ensure the safety of life at sea, often before the arrival of other national or international support. This spirit truly makes Pakistan Navy not just a capable player in the Indian Ocean but, as Ken Booth asserts a true torch bearer of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
(The writer is an Islamabad-based researcher. His areas of interest include: Maritime Security, Climate Change and astropolitics).
