NEW DELHI – The Indian Navy’s sail training ship INS Tarangini docked at Trincomalee on February 27 during a planned Sri Lanka visit. While no new agreements marked the stop, the program focused on joint training with Sri Lankan naval officers during both harbor and sea phases. Much of the world focuses on the hardware of naval diplomacy: destroyers, missiles, and ports. However, India and Sri Lanka have quietly perfected the software: the human network that will keep the Indian Ocean stable.
The visit’s purpose was less about the ship and more about the people on it. The Tarangini served as a floating classroom. By embedding Sri Lankan trainee officers into its crew, the Indian Navy reinforced an invisible infrastructure of shared knowledge and trust that has been decades in the making.
The Depth of the Training Relationship
The scale of this human investment is staggering. Under India’s Security Assistance Program (SAP), New Delhi offers training slots at its defense academies and naval institutions to personnel from friendly neighboring and Indian Ocean Region countries. Between 2016–17 and 2024–25, Sri Lanka has availed 2,214 seats, outpacing all neighboring countries by a considerable margin. This cements Sri Lanka’s position as the single largest beneficiary of Indian naval training support in the region.
This is about more than technical skill. A common operating system emerges as Sri Lankan officers trained in Indian academies share naval language, terminology, and protocols. In high-pressure maritime situations, this shared knowledge removes the lag time that often slows international coalitions.
In April 2025, the India-Sri Lanka partnership reached a new milestone when both countries signed a comprehensive Defense Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Colombo. Then, in December 2025, India acted as the first responder during Cyclone Ditwah. Under Operation Sagar Bandhu (Ocean Friend), the Indian Navy deployed its indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, and the stealth frigate, INS Udaygiri, to deliver over 1,000 tonnes of relief material. Because the two navies already shared the same operational code, there was no friction in coordinating search-and-rescue sorties or landing heavy equipment. Notably, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), established in 2022 with a $6 million Indian grant, served as the central hub for these operations, bridging the timeline from its inception to this response.
The momentum, building since last year, continued into 2026. On February 20, Prime Minister Modi met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on the sidelines of the India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The summit focused on the future of technology. However, the bilateral talks reaffirmed a more traditional commitment: keeping the Indian Ocean safe and collaborative.
For India, this is at the heart of the MAHASAGAR vision (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions). By investing in the capacity building of its neighbors, the Indian Navy ensures that when the next storm, be it meteorological or geopolitical, hits the horizon, the response is automatic.
Ashu Mann
Ashu Mann is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. He was awarded the Vice Chief of the Army Staff Commendation card on Army Day 2025. He is pursuing a PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies. His research focuses include India-China territorial dispute, great power rivalry, and Chinese foreign policy.
