Maltese waters and airspace were taken over by the Italian and Maltese armed forces in the 19th edition of the annual Canale exercise.

The drills included search and rescue, maritime law enforcement and explosive ordnance disposal operations.

The week-long exercise, which started on Sunday and ends tomorrow, seeks to promote peace in the Mediterranean and strengthen cooperation between the so-called 5+5 Initiative partners.

Canale 2013 was planned and organised by the Armed Forces of Malta and Italian Joint Operational Headquarters and involves naval and air units from Algeria, France, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia – countries involved in the 5+5.

The tasks focused on soft-security issues rather than traditional war-fighting skills and on improving cooperation between the air and naval forces.

Today, a number of distinguished visitors from the Italian and Maltese authorities will be hosted aboard Italian Navy vessel Cigala Fulgosi.

AFM P-51. Photos: Paul Spiteri Lucas

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