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UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 25th March 2025

Home / UPSC / Current Affairs / India Navy announces maiden India-African exercise, Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar

India Navy announces maiden India-African exercise, Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar

India Navy announces maiden India-African exercise, Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar

Why in News?

The Indian Navy has launched initiatives to enhance maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and with African nations. Key initiatives include the AIKEYME exercise and IOS Sagar mission.

India Navy announces maiden India-African exercise, Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar

AIKEYME Exercise

  • The ‘Africa India Key Maritime Engagement’ (AIKEYME) exercise, co-hosted by India and Tanzania, will take place in mid-April 2025 with 10 African nations participating.
  • The exercise will focus on anti-piracy operations, search and rescue, and information sharing.
  • It includes a Harbour Phase for training in seamanship, piracy scenarios, and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) operations, and a Sea Phase with small arms firing, helicopter operations, and seamanship evolutions.

IOS Sagar Mission

  • The Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar mission involves deploying INS Sunayna to the Southwest IOR from April 5 to May 8, 2025.
  • The ship will carry a combined Indian and foreign crew from nine African nations, conducting joint surveillance of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).
  • Personnel will receive two weeks of training in maritime operations, enhancing collaboration and operational readiness.

Strengthening Regional Ties

  • These initiatives align with India’s MAHASAGAR vision for strengthening maritime security in the Indian Ocean, enhancing India’s stature as a key security partner.
    • The MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) initiative was introduced by India to strengthen its engagement with the Global South.
    • This initiative focuses on fostering comprehensive growth and security partnerships across developing nations, further enhancing India’s role in the Global South.
  • Over the past decade, India has bolstered ties with IOR nations through joint exercises, coordinated patrols, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)

India's SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) Vision

  • India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision, unveiled in 2015, emphasizes the nation’s commitment to fostering stability, cooperation, and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • The vision aims to enhance India’s role in maritime security, economic growth, and international law, recognizing the increasing significance of the region in global geopolitics and economics.
  • Need for SAGAR Vision:
    • Leveraging Blue Economy: The blue economy concept offers India a unique opportunity to address national socio-economic challenges while strengthening connectivity with its maritime neighbors. Key aspects include:
    • Livelihoods and Food Security: Oceans provide sustenance and livelihoods for a substantial portion of the global population. With 80% of global trade transported via seas, the oceans are central to both food security and economic growth.
    • Energy Security: The seabed contributes 32% of the global supply of hydrocarbons, and further exploration is expanding. Moreover, oceans hold vast potential for renewable energy—including wind, tidal, wave, and thermal energy.
    • Marine Resource Development: New technologies are unlocking the potential for marine resource development, from bio-prospecting to seabed mining for minerals like poly-metallic nodules.

Tackling Regional Issues

SAGAR underscores the need for a cooperative approach to regional challenges:

  • Humanitarian Assistance: India seeks to bolster efforts to assist neighboring countries during natural disasters.
  • Security Challenges: The vision emphasizes countering piracy, terrorism, and other non-state actors threatening maritime security. This integrated approach supports sustainable development in the region.

Countering Chinese Influence

A critical element of SAGAR is countering China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean:

  • Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): China’s Maritime Silk Route, part of the BRI, increases its influence in the region, raising concerns in India.
  • Strategic Concerns: Investments by China in India’s neighboring countries have dual commercial and military dimensions, leading to India’s strategic worries about the “String of Pearls”—a network of Chinese-controlled ports and facilities stretching from the South China Sea to the Arabian Sea.
  • SAGAR, therefore, plays a significant role in balancing China’s influence and promoting India’s leadership and cooperation in the region.

Maritime Resurgence and Foreign Policy

  • SAGAR symbolizes India’s maritime resurgence, highlighting the growing importance of maritime security and economic engagement in its foreign policy.
  • As India increasingly focuses on its maritime interests, it becomes a central player in ensuring regional stability and prosperity.
  • By effectively implementing policies like SAGAR, India can shape a positive environment in the Indian Ocean, emphasizing peace, collaboration, and sustainable development for all nations in the region.

Conclusion

India’s AIKEYME and IOS Sagar initiatives are pivotal in enhancing maritime security, countering piracy, and fostering deeper cooperation in the IOR and with Africa, reinforcing India’s role as a preferred maritime security partner.

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