Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg marked the launch of the alliance's anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Mongoose in a visit to Norway on Monday, NATO said in a press release.

The exercise, which focused on detecting and defending against submarines, will run for 10 days in the Norwegian Sea.

Joined by Norwegian Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide, Stoltenberg addressed sailors aboard the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen.

Calling naval capabilities "as important as ever", he stressed that NATO must be able to operate "on the sea, over the sea, and also under the sea."

A total of 3,000 sailors and aircrew from eight NATO allies will be involved.

Four submarines from Canada, Germany, Norway and the United States, along with nine surface ships and four maritime patrol aircraft are taking part in the exercise.

This is the fourth time exercise Dynamic Mongoose has been conducted since 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Source:XINHUA