New Delhi: The Indian Navy carried out at least 221 deployments across the Indo-Pacific in 2023-2024 till November 2024, displaying more than 60 warships and its aircraft—Dorniers and P8Is.
The aim was to demonstrate the Navy’s operational versatility and fleet readiness for safeguarding India’s interests, contributing to regional stability, and fostering international maritime cooperation.
Submarines were among the 60 warships used for various types of deployments, such as port visits, operational deployments, and joint exercises. At least nine warships were destroyers, eight frigates, ten corvettes and six submarines. Smaller naval ships included patrol vessels, fleet tankers, landing craft utility ships, research survey vessels, and training ships.
The Navy’s eastern and western fleets deployed the ships in their respective areas of operations. The countries that the two fleets covered were Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and UAE.
The Navy’s western fleet is responsible for deployments in regions such as the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and Western Indian Ocean. In contrast, the eastern command takes care of regions such as the Bay of Bengal, Indo-Pacific, South China Sea, and Pacific Islands.
The purpose of the deployments varied. Some ship visits were only for conducting exercises, whereas others were for Operational Turnaround, including replenishing supplies and essential maintenance at friendly ports. Still, others were region-specific, need-based deployments of submarines, region-specific patrols, return passages and operational deployments, including fleet-specific ones, and for Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance and operations.
The Navy also directed some major ships towards countering piracy and drug interdiction. Operation Sankalp, aimed at safeguarding India’s shipping interests and trade routes, was one of the highlights of 2023 and 2024.
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In focus: Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia has long been a critical focus of India’s foreign policy. Maritime engagement with Southeast Asia has been a vital tool for India in countering China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific.
With its naval deployments and operational engagements, India aims to play a bigger role in regional security, especially given China’s increasing assertiveness. The move comes based on the ‘Act East Policy’—a revised ‘Look East Policy’ from earlier.
The ramping up of maritime diplomacy reflects India’s interest in regional stability and a growing commitment to security cooperation with the Southeast Asian nations. The Indian Navy’s presence in the South China Sea, which has been witnessing China’s aggressive manoeuvres, highlights India’s efforts to secure key maritime chokepoints.
In May 2024, the Indian Navy’s eastern fleet embarked on a significant operational deployment to the South China Sea with INS Delhi, INS Shakti and INS Kiltan.
The deployment featured port visits in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Brunei, offering opportunities for joint exercises and professional exchanges with regional navies.
In particular, engagements at Port Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia underscored the importance of securing the Malacca Strait—a critical maritime passage linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and vital for global trade.
India’s maritime engagement with Indonesia has been equally significant. Besides sending INS Saryu to Belawan for International Yoga Day in June 2024, the Indian Navy’s INS Shivalik visited Surabaya in August last year. Further, INS Kesari and LCU L57 participated in the India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) in December last year. This annual patrol, which has been ongoing since 2002, enhances maritime security and cooperation along the International Maritime Boundary Line between the two nations.
Part of a broader strategy to counterbalance China’s expanding footprint in the region, India’s naval engagements with Southeast Asia have deepened significantly in recent years, especially with countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
In 2023 and 2024, Indonesia hosted India more than 20 times at its ports such as Jakarta, Batam, Makassar, Belawan, Phuket, Medan, Fatmawati, Surabaya and Sabang. Some of the major ships, submarines, and helicopters that visited these ports were INS Sindhukesari (submarine) and INS Kavaratti (corvette), along with its Dornier aircraft, among others. INS Kolkata (destroyer) and INS Sahyadri (frigate), together, undertook operational deployments in Indonesia in 2023. INS Sindhukesari (submarine), among other capital warships, undertook operational deployments that year.
Indian ships and aircraft visited Malaysia at least eight times, visiting ports such as Ho Chi Minh, Port Klang, Kota Kinabalu and Subang. P8I, INS Delhi and INS Shakti were major naval assets that visited the country between 2023 and 2024.
Singapore, another key country, hosted major Indian ships such as INS Delhi, INS Sindhukesari, INS Kavaratti and INS Shivalik nearly 13 times.
In India’s immediate neighbourhood, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka saw two and 12 Indian naval deployments, respectively, in 2023 and 2024.
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In focus: Persian Gulf
With an emphasis on maritime security and trade protection, India’s western fleet has seen an increase in deployments, particularly in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Western Indian Ocean. These deployments, which amounted to the largest share of the total deployments, were mainly to safeguard shipping in the area.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, is a critical choke point for oil transportation. Any disruption there can have severe economic repercussions all over the world. Threats such as piracy, naval conflicts, and potential disruptions to shipping lanes pose risks. Recent events such as the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea proved how quickly the region can become a major flashpoint.
Between 2023 and 2024, several key Indian ships visited countries such as Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain.
Major Indian ships visited Oman more than 70 times in 2023 and 2024. Oman became the most-visited country. While carrying out its patrols in the Gulf region, the Indian Navy sent some of its major destroyers, such as INS Kochi, to ports such as Duqm and Salalah in Oman, among others. Due to the tensions in the Red Sea, Indian warships, during their Oman visit, also reached Djibouti, which sits at the convergence of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Further, Saudi Arabia hosted Indian ships more than ten times. INS Mormugao, INS Kolkata, INS Visakhapatnam, and submarines such as INS Vela, among several other ships, docked in Saudi Arabia.
Both these countries saw visits for patrols, OTRs, and operational deployments, among others.
Due to the tensions in the Red Sea, Indian warships, during their Oman visit, also reached Djibouti, which sits at the convergence of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
In Egypt, INS Kolkata, INS Sindhuratna, and INS Kochi, among several other ships, visited ports such as Port Said, Safaga, and Alexandria on escort missions, operational turnarounds, return passage, and patrols.
Iran saw two visits in 2023 and 2024. While INS Trikand visited the country in 2023, the country saw the second visit in 2024, with three warships—INS Tir, INS Veera, and INS Shardul—deployed in the region. The purpose of the visits was mainly operational.
India’s naval presence in these regions signals India’s multifaceted intent, which includes taking care of security issues in the larger Indian Ocean Region, achieving regional power projection, countering external influences, and exerting its influence in its maritime neighbourhood.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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