Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

News: The 7th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs is being hosted by the French Navy at Paris from 15th-16th Nov 21.The inaugural edition of IONS was held in Feb 2008 at New Delhi, with the Indian Navy as the Chair for two years. The IONS Chair is presently held in France.

Details:
• The IONS is a voluntary and inclusive initiative that brings together navies of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) littoral states to increase maritime co-operation and enhance regional security.It also serves to develop an effective response mechanism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) against natural disasters.
• The chairmanship of IONS has been held by India (2008-10), UAE (2010-12), South Africa (2012-14), Australia (2014-16), Bangladesh (2016-18) and Islamic Republic of Iran (2018-21).
• France assumed the Chairmanship in June 2021 for a two-year tenure.
• IONS includes 24 member nations that touch or lie within the IOR, and 8 observer nations.
• The members have been geographically grouped into the following four sub-regions:
• South Asian Littorals: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory)
• West Asian Littorals: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
• East African Littorals: France (Reunion), Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania.
• South East Asian and Australian Littorals: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
• IONS fits into India’s three-fold ambitions in the region:
• Strengthening and deepening the relations with the Indian Ocean littoral states,
• Establishing its leadership potential and aspirations of being a net-security provider, and
• Fulfilling India’s vision of a rules-based and stable maritime order in the IOR.
• It will help India to consolidate its sphere of influence from the Straits of Malacca to Hormuz.
• IONS can be used to counterbalance the increasing presence of China in the region.