MANAMA: A top American military commander has acknowledged Pakistan Navy’s contribution for ensuring maritime peace in the region and said the United States could not succeed without support of the Pakistan Navy.
“We cannot be successful in this region, without the contribution of the Pakistan Navy,” Vice Admiral John W Miller, Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) told a group of Pakistani journalists during a visit to his headquarters in the Bahraini capital.
Vice Admiral Miller, who has spent most of his operational career in the US Central Command area of responsibility, said ties between the navies of Pakistan and the United States were better than ever before. “We are quite fortunate to have Pakistan as part of our team, and they are not only just great team-mates, but they are also good friends,” he said.
Admiral Miller congratulated Pakistan for assuming the command of the Combined Maritime Task Force 151 for the sixth time from Thailand. Commodore Asif Hameed Siddiqui SI (M) from the Pakistan Navy is now commanding the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) on counter-piracy operations.
Miller said he has been at the US Navy’s Central Command Headquarters for three years and most of the time, one of the two task forces has been under the command of a Pakistan Navy officer.
“No nation has contributed more to command our task forces than Pakistan… so we are really proud of the relationship that we have with the Pakistan Navy,” he said.
