IMEX 22: IONS Maritime Exercise 2022

IMEX 22: Relevance

• GS 2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

IMEX 22: Context

• Recently, the maiden edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMEX-22) was conducted at Goa and in Arabian Sea.

आईएमईएक्स 22: आईओएनएस सामुद्रिक अभ्यास 2022

IMEX 22: Key points

• The aim of the exercise was to enhance interoperability in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations among member navies.
• The exercise witnessed participation of 15 out of the 25 member nations of IONS.
• The participation included warships, Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters from the Navies of Bangladesh, France, India and Iran.
• The participants validated the IONS HADR guidelines and developed response mechanisms for providing HADR from sea to shore as well as for rendering assistance to ships and crafts in distress at sea.
• The exercise is seen as a significant stepping stone for regional navies to collaborate and respond collectively to natural disasters in the region and paves way for further strengthening regional cooperation.

What is IONS?

• The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), established in 2007, is a premier forum for cooperation and collaboration among navies of littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
• The forum has enabled discussions on regional maritime issues, promoted friendly relationships, and significantly improved maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
• IONS is a voluntary forum which seeks to enhance maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by providing an open and inclusive platform for discussions on regionally relevant maritime issues.

IONS members

• 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 observers

• China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain.

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