Egypt, France navies hold joint exercise in Mediterranean

Egyptian and French naval forces carried out joint military drills across the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement.

"The training activities included the implementation of a realistic scenario of meeting the challenges facing maritime security, combating terrorism and protecting vital maritime targets such as gas and oil platforms against atypical threats," said Egyptian Military Spokesman Tamer al-Refaie.

The joint naval forces also trained on countering enemy speedboats, according to the statement.

The naval exercises included "carrying out sailing formations, signal transportation maneuvers, air attack prevention and the protection of an important cargo ship," Refaie pointed out.

He said that the drills are part of the joint training plan of Egypt's armed forces with friendly states.

Egypt regularly holds military exercises with Arab, African and western states to boost military collaboration and exchange military expertise.

On Sunday, the Egyptian forces started the "Arab Sheild 1" joint drills with forces from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan at Egypt's Mohamed Naguib Military Base in the Mediterranean province of Matrouh, the largest base in the Middle East and Africa.

In September, Egypt held "Bright Star" war games with U.S. troops. The "Bright Star" joint maneuvers were resumed in 2017 after eight years of suspension.

In early August, Egypt concluded "Eagle Response 2018" joint naval exercises in the Red Sea with forces from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Earlier in June, a joint naval and air drills involving Egypt, Greece and Cyprus were held along Egypt's Mediterranean coast.