Indian and Pakistani naval vessels arrived simultaneously at the Port of Colombo on June 1, the Sri Lanka Navy said, an unusual side-by-side presence at the same harbour weeks after the two nuclear-armed neighbours fought a brief war in May.

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat, a Shardul-class landing ship tank commanded by Commander IP Patil, arrived for an “operational turnaround,” the Sri Lanka Navy said in a statement. The Indian crew is scheduled to take part in a series of “professionally enriching events and camaraderie-building programmes” and to tour several historic and tourist locations across the country before the ship concludes her deployment.

In parallel, the Pakistan Navy frigates PNS Taimur and PNS Aslat — alongside the submarine PNS/M Hangor — made port at Colombo on a goodwill visit and to take on replenishment, the Sri Lanka Navy said. The Pakistani units are commanded by Captain Niamat Saeed Khan (PNS Taimur), Captain Nadir Mateen Afridi (PNS Aslat), and Captain Uzair Farooq (PNS/M Hangor). The Hangor submarine port call is a rare deployment for the South Asian fleet.

The Sri Lanka Navy said the Pakistani units will engage in a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the Sri Lanka Navy off the west coast at the conclusion of the visit, after the crews tour several locations in the country.

The simultaneous arrivals fit Sri Lanka’s stated effort to keep its Indian Ocean diplomacy even-handed. Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha used a Colombo conference last week to reiterate Sri Lanka’s commitment to non-alignment and the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace, echoing remarks he delivered at the 14th International Meeting of High-Ranking Security Officials in Moscow.

The INS Airavat call follows the Indian High Commission’s announcement on June 1 that the ship had delivered Coast Guard spares for the Sri Lankan vessel Suraksha and other materiel under an Indian grant. The Pakistan Navy’s last port call to Colombo was in April for the LION STAR V bilateral exercise, which concluded when PNS Taimur and PNS Aslat departed Colombo on April 13.

Sources: EconomyNext, NewsFirst (INS Airavat), NewsFirst (Pakistan Navy), Sri Lanka Navy (Pakistan), Sri Lanka Navy (India).