PIB TrackerBIMSTEC holds its first maritime security exercise
All seven BIMSTEC members are in the grouping's inaugural maritime security exercise, 30 October to 3 November, presented as putting the 6th Summit's 'Prosperous, Resilient and Open' agenda into practice in the Bay of Bengal, with the Andaman and Nicobar Command in focus.
What happened
- The inaugural BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise is being conducted from 30 October to 3 November 2026, bringing together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
- It builds on the outcomes of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, themed 'BIMSTEC: Prosperous, Resilient and Open', and reflects the grouping's resolve towards 'Translating Vision to Action'.
- The exercise aims to enhance interoperability, strengthen maritime domain awareness, improve coordination mechanisms and promote the exchange of best practices among member states.
- The release calls the Bay of Bengal a critical maritime space connecting South and South-East Asia and supporting trade, connectivity, energy security and economic growth.
- It highlights the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), India's first integrated tri-service command, for its location astride sea lanes and its roles in maritime surveillance, HADR and search and rescue; the motto is 'Shared Seas, Shared Security and Shared Prosperity'.
For Prelims
- BIMSTEC: the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, founded by the Bangkok Declaration of 6 June 1997 as BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand); Myanmar joined later in 1997, and the grouping took its present name in 2004.
- Members: five South Asian (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka) and two South-East Asian (Myanmar, Thailand); Bhutan and Nepal are landlocked. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka.
- BIMSTEC Charter: signed at the Colombo summit in March 2022; it entered into force on 20 May 2024.
- 6th Summit: held in Bangkok on 4 April 2025 under Thailand's chair, adopting the declaration 'Prosperous, Resilient and Open BIMSTEC' - the theme this exercise cites.
- Andaman and Nicobar Command: raised at Port Blair in 2001 after the Kargil Review Committee and a Group of Ministers' decision; India's first tri-service theatre command.
- Security track: on 13 October BIMSTEC's first Home Ministers' Meeting adopted a Delhi Declaration naming cross-border terrorism, with three conventions still unfinished (carded, PRID 2322964).
- Maritime domain awareness: knowing what moves at sea - shipping, fishing, smuggling - through shared surveillance and data. India's Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram is its main regional hub.
- Other formats: the Bay already sees bilateral coordinated patrols and multilateral events such as MILAN, hosted by the Indian Navy; this is the first exercise under BIMSTEC's own banner.
For UPSC: Inaugural BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise, 30 Oct-3 Nov 2026, all 7 members; BIMSTEC est. 1997 (Bangkok Declaration), Charter in force 20 May 2024; ANC (2001) first tri-service command.
What it is NOT: The release does not say where the exercise is being held, which ships, aircraft or agencies each member has sent, or whether landlocked Bhutan and Nepal take part with personnel or as observers. It gives no scenarios, does not discuss Myanmar's participation under its military government, and does not say whether the exercise will recur or under which BIMSTEC mechanism it was agreed.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS2.18 · GS2.17 · Linkage L1
Anchor
BIMSTEC has often been described as a grouping of declarations. An exercise involving all seven members at sea is one of its first acts of practical security cooperation.
Substantiation (data)
The inaugural BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise, 30 October-3 November 2026, brings all seven members together to build interoperability and maritime domain awareness, with the Andaman and Nicobar Command highlighted.
Position
The Bay of Bengal is where Neighbourhood First and Act East meet, and maritime cooperation is the most natural common agenda: piracy, illegal fishing, smuggling and cyclones affect every littoral member.
Counterpoint
Capabilities are lopsided - India's navy dwarfs the others - and members differ on Myanmar and on China's presence in the Bay. A showcase exercise can mask the absence of standing mechanisms.
Way forward
Make the exercise annual with rotating hosts; link it to information sharing through IFC-IOR; and add disaster-relief and fisheries-enforcement components in which smaller members can lead.
Conclusion
A grouping that took 27 years to bring its Charter into force has now exercised together at sea. Doing it again next year will matter more than doing it first.
Deploys into: Neighbourhood First and Act East · Regional groupings (BIMSTEC and SAARC) · Maritime security in the Bay of Bengal · Strategic role of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Ministry of Defence · 2026-10-31 · PRID 2330850 · PIB source ↗