Exercise MILAN 2022

Context:

The Indian Navy’s multilateral Exercise MILAN 2022 is scheduled

About Exercise MILAN 2022:

• The latest edition of the Indian Navy’s multilateral exercise MILAN 2022 is commencing from 25 Feb 22 in the ‘City of Destiny’, Visakhapatnam. 
• MILAN 22 is being conducted over a duration of 9 days in two phases with the harbour phase scheduled from 25 to 28 February and Sea Phase from 01 to 04 March.
• India is celebrating the 75th year of its independence in 2022, and MILAN 22 provides an opportunity to commemorate this milestone with our friends and partners.
• Aims to project India as a responsible maritime power to the world at large.
• The aim of the exercise is to hone operational skills, imbibe best practices and procedures, and enable doctrinal learning in the maritime domain, through professional interaction between friendly navies.
• MILAN is a biennial multilateral naval exercise incepted by the Indian Navy in 1995 at Andaman and Nicobar Command.
• Starting with the participation of only four countries, viz Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, in the 1995 edition, the exercise has since transitioned leaps and bounds in terms of number of participants and complexity of exercises.
• Since its inception, the event has been held biennially except for 2001, 2005, 2016 and 2020. While the 2001 and 2016 editions were not held due to International Fleet Reviews, the 2005 editions was rescheduled to 2006 due to the 2004 Tsunami. 2020 edition of MILAN was postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19.
• Originally conceived in consonance with India’s ‘Look East Policy’, MILAN expanded in ensuing years with India’s ‘Act East policy’ and Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative, to include participation from island nations in the Western IOR (Indian Ocean Region) as also IOR littorals.

About Indian Navy

• Maritime powers in the Indian subcontinent have possessed navies for many centuries.
• Indian dynasties such as the Cholas used naval power to extend their influence overseas, particularly to Southeast Asia.
• The Marakkar Navy under Zamorins during 15th century and the Maratha Navy of the 17th and 18th centuries fought with rival Indian powers and European trading companies.
• The East India Company organised its own navy, which came to be as the Bombay Marine. With the establishment of the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the small navy was transformed into “His Majesty’s Indian Navy”, then “Her Majesty’s Indian Marine”, and finally the “Royal Indian Marine”.
• The Royal Indian Marine transported large numbers of Indian troops overseas during the First World War, and – as the Royal Indian Navy – took part in naval combat and patrol duties during the Second World War.
• When India became independent in 1947 part of the Royal Indian Navy was allotted to the new state of Pakistan; the remaining forces took the title of Indian Navy in 1950.
• The Indian Navy took part in Operation Vijay in 1961, wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, and in more recent operations of a smaller scale.

MAJOR OPERATIONS OF INDIAN NAVY

The Indian Navy’s contribution to the liberation of Goa from Portugal in 1961 was one of its earliest operations.

On the 4th of December, the Indian Navy commemorated Navy Day. The victory of the Indian Navy in Operation Trident during the Indo-Pak war in 1971 is commemorated on this day. In comparison to the other Armed Forces services, the Indian Navy has the smallest number of soldiers. However, it had given its all in some of the operations that led to India’s dominance during the war. The Indian Navy’s Marine Commandos (MARCOS) are a special force unit trained in amphibious warfare, counter-terrorism, special reconnaissance, hostage rescue, and asymmetric warfare.

• OP RAAHAT

In 2015, Indian Armed Forces carried out an operation to evacuate people from Yemen, which was ravaged by war. The INS Sumitra was dispatched to evacuate the passengers, while the INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash were dispatched to protect the vessel. During the internal unrest in Yemen, not only Indian nationals but also foreigners were evacuated.

• OP PARAKRAM

In 2002, India and Pakistan were locked in a major standoff. It included the Indian Navy as well. This operation included 26 Indian Navy cadets under the command of a Navy captain, marking the first time in Indian Defense history that cadets were involved in any operation.

• OP TRIDENT

It was the Indian Navy’s offensive operation over Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, when the Indian Navy attacked Pakistan’s Karachi port. On 4 December, the Indian Navy observed Navy Day to commemorate the victory of this operation, in which the Indian Navy used anti-ship missiles for the first time and destroyed many Pakistani ships with no Indian casualties.

• OP PYTHON

It came after Operation Trident, in which the Karachi port was bombed during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. During this operation, the Indian Navy attacked Pakistani ships at Karachi port, striking one Pakistani ship without causing any damage to Indian ships.

• OP TALWAR

During the Kargil War in 1999, Operation Talwar was planned. To stop the supply of oil and fuel, the Indian Navy set up a blockade near the Karachi port for Pakistani boats. The Indian Navy also threatened to cut off Pakistan’s trade routes and began patrolling the Arabian Sea. Pakistan later informed India of their fuel shortage, and appropriate measures were taken.

• OP CACTUS

In 1988, the operation was carried out to calm the situation in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. It was organised by the Indian Armed Forces, with the Indian Navy playing a key role. The INS Godavari and the INS Betwa were both involved in the operation off the coast of Sri Lanka.

Source: PIB

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