India Boosts Naval Diplomacy in Southeast Asia as ASEAN Maritime Year Begins

Marking the ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation, India deployed its First Training Squadron to Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. The visit provided operational training for new officers while also serving a key diplomatic purpose.

January has opened the year on a decisive note for India’s engagement with Southeast Asia, setting the pace for what New Delhi and ASEAN capitals are marking as the ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation.

The First Training Squadron (1TS), sailing on a Long Range Training Deployment with officer trainees of the 110th Integrated Officers’ Training Course, has emerged as the first major Indian naval presence in Southeast Asian waters this year.

The timing is deliberate. New Delhi appears intent on using the early months of the year to underline its commitment to a more active and confident seagoing outreach, shaped unmistakably by the principles of SAGAR—Security and Growth for All in the Region.

The squadron—INS Tir, INS Shardul, INS Sujata and ICGS Sarathi—began its swing through Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand with the practical objective of giving young officers operational exposure. Yet the deployment has unmistakably served a diplomatic purpose as well.

The Act East Policy now leans heavily on maritime engagement, and these visits have reinforced the message that India intends to remain an active and reliable security partner in a region that increasingly shapes the strategic conversation in the Indo-Pacific.

All of this builds on a relationship that has matured at a steady clip. India and ASEAN became strategic partners in 2012 and elevated the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022, a milestone that also marked three decades of engagement.

The first ASEAN–India Maritime Exercise (AIME) in 2023, co-hosted with Singapore, offered the clearest demonstration yet of how multilateral maritime coordination was moving from paper to practice. The exercise involved nine ships, six aircraft and more than 1,800 personnel drawn from across the ASEAN membership.

Singapore: Symbolically Strong Start

The training squadron’s first stop was Singapore, where it wrapped up a three-day visit on January 18.

Professional interactions, training capsules, sports fixtures and cultural exchanges filled the programme. Yet the quiet moment at the Kranji War Memorial—where officers laid wreaths to honour Indian soldiers who fell during the Second World War—stood out.

Singapore and India share decades of naval familiarity, and the visit of INS Nistar last year for Exercise Pacific Reach only reinforced that comfort level. January’s engagement felt less like a formality and more like a reaffirmation of a partnership long in motion.

Indonesia: Bridging Operational Cooperation and Community Connect

From Singapore, the squadron sailed to Belawan, Indonesia, docking on January 20 and departing on January 23 after a three-day visit.

The stopover became a compact showcase of well-rounded naval outreach: professional interactions at Komando Daerah Angkatan Laut I, sports meets, joint yoga sessions and ship tours that drew large numbers of schoolchildren.

Visits to Indonesian naval facilities, in particular, gave the trainees valuable insight into how Indonesia manages maritime operations near one of the busiest sea lanes in the world.

India–Indonesia naval ties have been on a gentle upward trajectory, reflected most recently in the fifth edition of Exercise Samudra Shakti, held last October in Visakhapatnam. The participation of INS Kavaratti alongside the Indonesian corvette KRI John Lie underscored the seriousness with which both sides approach bilateral maritime drills. January’s interactions therefore felt like a continuation rather than a one-off engagement.

Thailand: A Visit of Notable Significance

The most high-profile leg of the deployment unfolded in Thailand. When the Indian ships arrived at Phuket on January 25, the Royal Thai Navy accorded them full ceremonial honours.

In the days that followed, Indian and Thai naval personnel engaged in professional exchanges, yoga sessions, friendly sports fixtures and preparations for a Passage Exercise (PASSEX).

Naval cooperation between the two countries has broadened steadily over the years—through the Indo–Thai Coordinated Patrol, the trilateral SITMEX exercise and, more recently, the launch of the bilateral drill Exercise Ayutthaya.

Named after the historic Thai city linguistically and culturally linked to Ayodhya, the exercise highlights a civilisational connection that predates modern diplomatic boundaries.

India’s assumption of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) chair from Thailand in February 2026 adds further context, signalling the evolving roles both navies play within the wider Indian Ocean security architecture.

A Deliberate Strategic Pattern

Threaded through all these visits is a recognisable strategic pattern: India is blending its training calendar with targeted diplomatic outreach.

Young officers gain valuable operational exposure, while host nations benefit from continuity in engagement. It is a model India has employed before, but rarely so early—or so prominently—in a calendar year.

SAGAR and the Larger Arc of the Indo-Pacific

The January deployments have gone beyond ceremony. They have sketched the contours of what India–ASEAN maritime engagement could look like through 2026: multi-layered, operationally meaningful and culturally anchored.

In many ways, the month has functioned as a soft launch of India’s broader ambitions in the region, marking a year in which naval diplomacy is likely to take centre stage.

The tone aligns seamlessly with the SAGAR framework—a region where India seeks not dominance, but dependable partnerships; not assertion, but shared security; not isolated manoeuvres, but a cooperative Indo-Pacific shaped by trust and steady engagement.