India appointed as the chair of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium ‘IONS’

India has assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. With this, leadership returned to India after 16 years. Earlier, after handling the initial chairmanship from 2008 to 2010, India is now taking forward the forum that has become a central platform for professional maritime cooperation.

• The 9th conclave of the Chiefs of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) was held on 20 Feb 2026 in Visakhapatnam, where major participants included Navy chiefs of 33 countries and heads of maritime security agencies representing IONS members, observers and other coastal countries of the Indian Ocean.
• Key developments during the conclave included the launch of an upgraded IONS website by the Indian Navy to enhance usability, institutional continuity and secure engagement among member navies.
• The Philippines was included as an observer, and Oman joined the IONS working group on HADR, expanding the scope of collaborative engagement under IONS and strengthening the forum’s cooperative reach.

About IONS

• It is a voluntary and inclusive multilateral forum of navies of the Indian Ocean Region, established in 2008. The Indian Navy initiated it.
• Members: IONS has a total of 34 countries (25 members including India and 9 observers).
• Inaugural seminar: The first IONS conclave was held in New Delhi in 2008, with the Indian Navy as chair (2008–2010).

About the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

• It covers about one-fifth of the world’s ocean area. After the Pacific and Atlantic, the Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world.
• It is surrounded by Asia (north), Africa (west), Australia (east) and Antarctica (south), and its deepest point is Sunda Deep, Java Trench (Indonesia).
• Major seas and gulfs: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal, Gulfs of Aden and Oman and the Great Australian Bight; the Indian Ocean has the fewest marginal seas among major oceans.
• More than 40 countries and about 40% of the world’s population live in this region.
• It handles about two-thirds of global oil shipments, one-third of cargo and about 50% of container traffic. Key chokepoints: Suez Canal, Bab al-Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca → crucial for global trade, energy flow and strategic security.

About the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

• Established in 1997, it is an intergovernmental forum whose highest body, the Council of Foreign Ministers (COM), meets annually to decide policy. Sri Lanka is currently the chair of IORA, while India, currently vice-chair and part of the troika, will assume chairship for 2025–2027.
• India aims to build trust, transparency and maritime cooperation while upholding international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• Security and defence cooperation: India builds trust as a net security provider through defence exercises such as AIKEYME (Africa), MILAN (multinational), SIMBEX (with Singapore) and joint patrolling with island nations.