Egypt holds war-games with UK, France in Red, Med seas

CAIRO (AA) - The Egyptian military on Monday began holding joint naval drills with its British and French counterparts in the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea respectively.

According to an army statement, Egypt will conduct joint exercises with the British Armed Forces in the Red Sea while holding simultaneous drills with French military forces in the Mediterranean.

The joint exercises with Britain, the statement explained, include the use of new methods for minesweeping “with a view to mitigating the threat of mines to international maritime navigation”.

The drills also include simulated terrorist threats to maritime security, according to the same statement, which did not specify how long the drills would go on for.

On Sunday, the Egyptian army announced the conclusion of an 11-day joint naval/air force exercise with the U.S., Saudi and United Arab Emirates (UAE) militaries, which was also conducted in the Red Sea.

In recent years, Egypt has held a number of joint military exercises -- air, land and sea -- with different Arab and western countries, including the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.