India to host nine-day naval exercise; 50 countries likely to participate

NEW DELHI: India will host a nine-day mega naval exercise in Visakhapatnam beginning February 19 that is expected to see participation of over 50 navies against the backdrop of a fractious geopolitical environment including increasing security concerns in the Red Sea.

Navies from the US, Japan, Australia, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia are set to be among the participating nations in the ‘Milan’ exercise to be conducted off Visakhapatnam from February 19 to 27, officials said.

Milan is a biennial multinational naval exercise which started in 1995 with the participation of Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand in consonance with India’s ‘Look East’ policy. The exercise flourished under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command till its 10th edition.

With the growing stature of the exercise and the requirement of a larger staging and hosting base, Visakhapatnam, was chosen as the preferred venue for the exercise.

The city is ideal to host the event owing to various aspects, namely major commercial hub, large port, steep coastal gradient closer to its shores enabling ships to operate closer to the shore and long coastline offering excellent viewing experience for the public, officials said.

The upcoming exercise would comprise two phases — the ‘Harbour phase’ and the ‘Sea phase’.

The harbour phase, aimed to promote cultural sharing amongst the participating nations, would consist of an international maritime seminar, international city parade, maritime exhibition and various sporting events.

In the sea phase, ships along with aircraft of friendly foreign countries would participate along with the Indian Navy’s aircraft and other units, the officials said.