IONS Maritime Exercise 2026 | 31 Mar 2026

Source: PIB

The Indian Navy recently hosted the IONS Maritime Exercise (IMEX) Table Top Exercise (TTX) 2026 in Kochi to address evolving non-traditional security threats in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

• Delegates from 12 member nations—including Bangladesh, France, Kenya, Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste—participated.
• The exercise focused on non-traditional maritime security challenges such as piracy, maritime terrorism, and illegal trafficking, which threaten global trade and energy flows.
• The exercise coincides with India assuming the Chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) for the 2026–2028 cycle, returning to the leadership role after a 16-year gap.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

• About: Launched by the Indian Navy in 2008, it is a voluntary and cooperative initiative that seeks to increase maritime cooperation among the navies of the littoral (coastal) states of the IOR.
• Objectives: It focuses on counter-piracy and maritime crime, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and information sharing & interoperability to enhance maritime domain awareness.
• Membership & Structure: It consists of 25 countries, categorised into four sub-regions, i.e., South Asian, West Asian, East African and South East Asian & Australian Littorals.
  • The Philippines joined as the latest observer in 2026, alongside other observer countries such as China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Spain.
• Significance for India: For India, IONS is a critical vehicle for its MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision. It allows India to strengthen its role as a Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean.