Indian Ocean Naval Symposium: Uniting the Maritime Indian Ocean Region

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1 Dr Manmohan Singh in his inaugural speech for IONS 2008 on February 14, 2008. 2 IOR-ARC is the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation formed in March 1997. BIMST-EC comprises Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It was launched in June 1997. SAARC is the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, formed in December 1985. SADC is the Southern African Development Community. ECOWAS is the Economic Community of West African States, founded in 1975. 3 Peter Lehr, ‘The Challenge for Security in the Indian Ocean in the 21st Century: Plus ça change’, Working Paper No 13, November 2002, South Asia Institute, Department of Political Science, University of Heidelberg. 4 An IONS technical seminar was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from May 21--23, 2009. There was participation from 31 delegates from 18 member countries. The theme was ‘Practical Cooperative Mechanisms for Technical Support within the Indian Ocean Region’. 5 The events held since IONS 2008 are: Essay Competition (December 2008), by the Indian Navy; Technical Seminar (19–21 May 2009), by the Sri Lankan navy; Preparatory Workshop (1–2 October 2010), by the Kenyan navy; Essay Competition (December 2009), by the South African navy; ‘HADR’ Workshop (October 11--12, 2010), by the Bangladeshi navy; and Essay Competition by the South African navy (January 2012). 6 The second edition of IONS was held in the UAE on May 10--11, 2010, and the theme was ‘Together for the Reinforcement of Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean’. 7 MILAN exercises organised by the Indian Navy started with a total of five participating navies in 1995. By 2012, the participation had expanded to 15 navies from the Asia Pacific Region. 8 In practice this consists of handing over a few files and elaborately crafted handing-over notes. 9 Y.V. Athawale, ‘The IONS Initiative and Its Prospects for Security Cooperation within the IOR’, Maritime Affairs, 6(1), Summer 2010, p. 109. 10 Royal Australian Navy, SPC Canberra, ‘The Western Pacific Naval Symposium’, Semaphore, July 14, 2006. 11 The CSCAP has undertaken similar studies. The output documents of these studies (called Memos) have been forwarded to the ARF for consideration. 12 A similar initiative was suggested by Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd) during an IONS 2008 seminar presentation entitled ‘Commonalities in Maritime Challenges and Options for a Cooperative IOR Structure’. A modified version was suggested by the author in Canberra during the IOMS seminar in 2009. 13 Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of Naval Staff, speaking on ‘India's Maritime Diplomacy and International Security’, 18–20 April 2008, at the First IISS (International Institute of Strategic Studies) Citi India Global Forum, New Delhi. Admiral Mehta was the Indian Naval Chief during IONS 2008. 14 Alex Vines and Bereni Oruitemeka, ‘India's Engagement with the African Indian Ocean Rim States’, South African Journal of International Affairs (SAJIA), 14(2), 2007.