On the 10 th of May, the EU, Japan and Djibouti carried out a joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden in a continued effort to strengthen the efficiency of tactical procedures between navies. The exercise builds on the It comes after the adoption of an EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, last month, calling for increased joint activities in order to promote maritime security in the region. The 20-hour exercise based on a counter-piracy scenario involved Operation Atalanta flagship, ITS Carabiniere, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyer JS Setogiri, Djibouti Coast Guard patrol boats and the Djiboutian Navy operating from their Navy Maritime Awareness Centre.