NEW DELHI – When India’s President Droupadi Murmu reviewed a fleet of 85 warships off the coast of Visakhapatnam in February, it was more than a ceremonial spectacle. It underscored India’s strategic intent to expand its maritime influence and role, reflecting a vision that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had outlined a year earlier in Mauritius—a vision the Indian Navy has been translating methodically into practice. This ambition was evident at MILAN 2026 in Visakhapatnam, one of India’s largest multilateral naval exercises.
The exercise was held from 18 to 25 February 2026 under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command, with participation from 74 friendly foreign countries. It witnessed participation on an unprecedented scale, comprising 42 ships and submarines and 29 aircraft, including 18 ships from participating friendly foreign countries. Maritime patrol aircraft from France, Germany, and the USA also took part. Around the same time, the city hosted the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026. The 2026 edition of the IFR had 74 participating nations with 85 warships, including 19 from friendly foreign nations, while the Indian fleet comprised 60 Indian Navy ships and four Indian Coast Guard vessels.
During these events, President Droupadi Murmu reviewed the fleet, which included indigenous platforms such as the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, reinforcing India’s “Builder’s Navy” status. Concurrently, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium held its conclave of chiefs in Visakhapatnam, assembling naval leaders to discuss maritime security and cooperation. All these events took place against the backdrop of the MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) initiative, announced by PM Modi on 12 March 2025 during his visit to Mauritius.
The MAHASAGAR framework expands on India’s SAGAR doctrine, announced by Modi in 2015, to guide engagement in the Indian Ocean Region. While SAGAR focused primarily on regional security, MAHASAGAR widens the scope by integrating economic diplomacy, technological connectivity, and environmental sustainability. This strategic shift signals India’s intent to shape maritime cooperation across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the critical Indo-Pacific sea lanes vital to global trade.
Nearly two-thirds of global trade flows through the Indo-Pacific, while about 90 percent of India’s own trade travels by sea. Strengthening partnerships along these routes has therefore become a key part of India’s external engagement. Over the past year, India’s naval outreach has taken shape through several joint exercises and deployments. In April 2025, India launched the first Africa–India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) exercise in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, denoting a significant step toward strengthening maritime cooperation between India and African nations.
The exercise was conducted over six days with participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa, alongside India and Tanzania—ten nations in total—focusing on joint patrol capabilities and counter-piracy cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean. Another initiative was the deployment of INS Sunayna under the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR program. The ship was deployed to the south-western Indian Ocean with a combined crew of Indians and nine friendly foreign countries — Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. The ship carried out patrols in the Exclusive Economic Zones of participating countries while also conducting training engagements and port visits. India’s naval engagement has also spread beyond its immediate neighborhood. In early June 2025, India and the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) held a joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, focusing on improving interoperability and advancing counter-piracy tactics — the first such complex exercise between the two sides. Along with these exercises, the Indian Navy has continued to act as the first responder to humanitarian emergencies in the region.
On 28 March 2025, the Indian Navy launched Operation Brahma, dispatching five ships to Myanmar with relief supplies after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake. Later, on 28 November, India began Operation Sagar Bandhu to deliver emergency humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah. By 1 December, 53 tonnes of relief material had been sent, utilizing naval ships INS Vikrant and INS Sukanya at Colombo and Trincomalee, as well as multiple IAF sorties and NDRF rescue teams.
By 1 April, six aircraft and five Indian naval ships had together delivered 625 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid and disaster relief material. In East Africa, the Navy deployed INS Sumedha to Kenya for rescue operations during severe floods. Regional cooperation platforms have also expanded. Seychelles officially joined the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) as a full member during the 7th NSA-level meeting in New Delhi on 20 November 2025. The CSC, which began in 2011 as a trilateral mechanism between India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, now has a permanent secretariat in Colombo and six full members, including Mauritius and Bangladesh.
A year after its introduction, MAHASAGAR remains an evolving initiative. But the range of naval exercises, relief missions, and partnerships over the past twelve months suggests that India intends to pursue a larger role in developing cooperation across the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific — with the Indian Navy continuing to lead much of that effort.
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.
