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MAHASAGAR Vision
Ten Years of India’s SAGAR Doctrine – Securing Maritime Borders and Forging Ties
Context: Marking the tenth anniversary of its SAGAR doctrine—Security and Growth for All in the Region—India has elevated its maritime strategy with the launch of the MAHASAGAR vision.
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- Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Mauritius in March 2025, the initiative stands for “Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions” and seeks to reinforce India’s role as a key maritime player in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
AIKEYME 2025: Strengthening Maritime Partnerships
- In a major step toward operationalising MAHASAGAR, India is set to conduct AIKEYME (Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement), a six-day joint naval exercise from April 13 to 18, in collaboration with the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF).
- The exercise, hosted in Tanzania, underscores the growing strategic importance of the Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR) in India’s foreign policy.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the inaugural edition of AIKEYME, which will feature participation from ten African nations: Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, and co-host Tanzania.
AIKEYME will be conducted in two phases:
- Harbour Phase: This will feature tabletop and command-post exercises focused on piracy response, information sharing, seamanship training, and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) operations.
- Sea Phase: Naval forces will engage in seamanship evolutions, search and rescue drills, small-arms firing, VBSS drills, and helicopter operations.
Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar Deployment
- Alongside AIKEYME, India will also launch the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar initiative to deepen maritime collaboration with IOR nations.
- Under this initiative, INS Sunayna, an Indian Navy offshore patrol vessel, will be deployed in April 2025 to the southwest Indian Ocean for over a month.
- The mission will feature a multinational crew comprising personnel from India and nine other countries: Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
- The deployment includes scheduled port calls in Dar es Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria, and Malé, along with joint surveillance of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
Training and Capacity Building
- In preparation for both AIKEYME and IOS Sagar, a two-week intensive training program is being conducted at a naval professional school in Kochi.
- Officers from participating and friendly nations are undergoing at-sea training, watchkeeping duties, and whole-ship exercises aligned with their national requirements.
- These personnel will also observe the harbour phase of AIKEYME in Dar es Salaam.
India-Africa Maritime Cooperation: A Decade in the Making
- India’s commitment to African maritime security has grown steadily since Prime Minister Modi’s 2018 address to the Ugandan Parliament, where he outlined ten guiding principles of engagement with Africa—security in the Indian Ocean being a key pillar.
- India has conducted numerous joint operations with African navies, particularly in anti-piracy efforts.
- In 2018, Indian warships took part in Exercise IBSAMAR-VI with the South African and Brazilian navies.
- Additionally, Indian vessels have regularly patrolled waters near Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, and Comoros.
- India also hosts the biennial Milan Exercise, which in 2024 saw a record 53 navies participate in Visakhapatnam, including 16 African nations.
Enhancing Communication and Response Capabilities
- A key element of interoperability is seamless communication. To facilitate this, India launched the NISHAR communication terminal in 2024, linking navies of friendly partner countries and enabling real-time coordination on maritime threats like piracy, trafficking, and illegal fishing.
- India has also reinforced its Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) capabilities, consistently acting as the region’s first responder.
- A significant milestone in 2024 was the commissioning of a new airstrip and jetty on Agalega Island (Mauritius), enhancing India’s ability to deliver rapid aid and assistance.
Free and Open Indian Ocean Region
- Positioned at the crossroads of major maritime routes, the Western Indian Ocean is increasingly becoming a hub of strategic competition and maritime challenges, including piracy and threats to commercial shipping.
- AIKEYME seeks to address these issues through collective preparedness and cooperation.
- India envisions making AIKEYME a biennial event, with future editions potentially involving West African nations.
- By fostering regional security and capacity-building, India aims to position itself as a “preferred security partner” and “first responder” in the Indian Ocean Region.
Derived from Sanskrit, the name “AIKEYME” symbolises unity, reflecting India’s broader goal of promoting a free, open, and inclusive maritime environment through its MAHASAGAR vision.
