7th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)

CategoryDefence

Last Updated02/07/2021

The 7th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), a biennial event, was hosted by the French Navy at La Réunion from 28 June to 01 July 2021.
IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS):

It provides an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues.
It was conceived by the Indian Navy in 2008.
It is held biennially.
The chairmanship and location of the Symposium rotate between the various member states.
The chairmanship of IONS has been held by India (2008-10), UAE (2010-12), South Africa (2012-14), Australia (2014-16), Bangladesh (2016-18) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (2018-21).
France has assumed the Chairmanship on 29 Jun 21 for a two-year tenure and next will be Thailand.
IONS working group consists of 24 members which divided into 4 groups and 8 observers countries.

South Asian Littorals: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory).
West Asian Littorals: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
East African Littorals: France (Reunion), Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania.
South East Asian and Australian Littorals: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

To promote a shared understanding of the maritime issues facing the littoral nation-states of the Indian Ocean
To strengthen the capability of all littoral nation-states of the Indian Ocean to address present and anticipated challenges to maritime security and stability.
To establish and promote a variety of trans-national, maritime, cooperative mechanisms designed to mitigate maritime-security concerns within the Indian Ocean.
To develop interoperability in terms of doctrines, procedures, organisational and logistic systems, and operational processes
To promote the development of regional naval capacities for speedy, responsive, and effective Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) throughout the Indian Ocean region.