Overview
- All seven BIMSTEC members—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand—are taking part in the inaugural exercise hosted at Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The exercise was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty and attended by senior delegations and India’s National Maritime Security Coordinator, Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta.
- The drill, which began on Friday, Oct. 30 and runs until November 3, combines three days of tabletop planning with a two-day harbour phase that will involve ships and operational teams from member states.
- Planners say the main aims are to boost maritime domain awareness, improve interoperability for coordinated patrols and information sharing, and practise humanitarian assistance, search-and-rescue and pollution response.
- Hosting the exercise at the Andaman and Nicobar Command leverages India’s integrated tri-service hub on critical sea lanes and signals a move to turn BIMSTEC summit pledges into practical regional security cooperation.