Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

Short description: Indian Ocean region maritime meetings

IONS Logo

The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) is a series of biennial meetings between the littoral states of the Indian Ocean region. It provides a forum to increase maritime security cooperation, discuss regional maritime issues, and promote friendly relationships among the member states.[1][2][3][4]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Role
* 3 Members and observers
* 3.1 Members
* 3.2 Observers
* 4 List of symposiums
* 5 Notes
* 6 References

## History

The symposium was first held in 2008 with India as host. The chairmanship and location of the Symposium rotates between the various member states.[5][6][7][8] Each term of chairmanship is two years.[9]

## Role

IONS is a security construct for the Indian Ocean region which is similar to the Western Pacific Naval Symposium. It is a voluntary initiative among the navies and maritime security agencies of the member nations. In addition to the symposiums, numerous other activities like workshops, essay competitions and lectures are also held under the umbrella of the organization.[1]

## Members and observers

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
Dark blue = member States
Light blue = observers

The 25 member nations of the IONS are grouped into four sub-regions.[1][10][11]

### Members

Sub region  | Member  | Accession

|
|

South Asian  |  Bangladesh  |
India  | February 2008
Maldives  |
Pakistan  | March 2014[12]
Seychelles  |
Sri Lanka  |
West Asian  |  Iran  |
Oman  |
Saudi Arabia  |
Qatar  |
UAE  |
East African  |  France[lower-alpha 1] |
Kenya  |
Mauritius  |
Mozambique  |
South Africa  |
Tanzania  |
Eritrea  |
South East Asian and Australian  |  Australia  |
Indonesia  |
Malaysia  |
Myanmar  |
Singapore  |
Thailand  |
Timor Leste  |

### Observers

There are nine states with observer status[10]

* China
* Germany
* Italy
* Japan
* South Korea
* Madagascar
* Netherlands
* Russia
* Spain

## List of symposiums

Year  | Edition  | Host  | Dates  | Notes

|
|
|
|

2008  | 1st  |  India  | 14–16 February 2008  |
2010  | 2nd  |  United Arab Emirates  | 10–12 May 2010  |
2012  | 3rd  |  South Africa  | 10–14 April 2012  | [13]
2014  | 4th  |  Australia  | 26 March 2014  | [14]
2016  | 5th  |  Bangladesh  | 11–13 January 2016  | [15]
2018  | 6th  |  Iran  | 22–25 April 2018  | [16]
2021  | 7th  |  Réunion and Paris | June 2021  | [16]
2023  | 8th  |  Thailand  | 19–22 December 2023  | [16]
2025  | 9th  |  India  | 20 February 2026  | [9][17]

The 7th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was held at Réunion, France. But during that, it was agreed upon to conduct the extant conclave of Chiefs in Paris. Eventually, in November 2021 the conclave was concluded in Paris, France.

The ninth edition of IONS Conclave of Chiefs hosted in Visakhapatnam, simultaneously with the International Fleet Review 2026 and exercise MILAN 2026, had Chiefs of Navies and Heads of Maritime Security Agencies from 33 countries. During the conclave, the Philippines joined as an observer while Oman joined the IONS Working Group on HADR.[9][17]

## Notes

1. ↑ Represented by Indian Ocean overseas region of Mayotte and Réunion.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About IONS". http://www.ions.global/.
2. ↑ "Indian Ocean Naval Symposium". http://www.navy.gov.au/ions.
3. ↑ Tewari, Sharad; Khanijo, Dr Roshan (2016-10-10) (in en). The Indo Pacific Region: Security Dynamics and Challenges. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789385563300. https://books.google.com/books?id=i0YKDQAAQBAJ&q=maldives+IONS&pg=PT154.
4. ↑ Rumley, Dennis; Doyle, Timothy (2016-04-14) (in en). Indian Ocean Regionalism. Routledge. ISBN 9781317585978. https://books.google.com/books?id=Joj7CwAAQBAJ&q=Indian+ocean+naval+symposium&pg=PA32.
5. ↑ "India, China to join Indian Ocean exercise". Defence Reporter. The Hindu. 13 August 2017. http://defencereporter.com/navy/india-china-to-join-indian-ocean-exercise_92146.html.
6. ↑ Limaye, Satu (April 2017). "Weighted West, Focused on the Indian Ocean and Cooperating across the Indo-Pacific: The Indian Navy's New Maritime Strategy, Capabilities, and Diplomacy". CNA. https://www.cna.org/cna_files/pdf/DRM-2016-U-013939-Final2.pdf.
7. ↑ "China-India Brief #99 | Centre on Asia and Globalization". http://lkyspp2.nus.edu.sg/cag/publication/china-india-brief/china-india-brief-99.
8. ↑ journals.christuniversity.in/index.php/artha/article/download/1569/1314
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Rao, V. Kamalakara (2026-02-20). "India takes over IONS chair after 16 years at Naval Chiefs’ conclave" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/india-takes-over-ions-chair-after-16-years-at-naval-chiefs-conclave/article70656165.ece.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "IONS Working Groups | Indian Ocean Naval Symposium". http://www.ions.global/ions-working-groups.
11. ↑ Mahmud, Tarek (27 November 2017). "President inaugurates 32-nation naval exercise". Dhaka Tribune. http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/2017/11/27/president-inaugurates-naval-exercise/.
12. ↑ IANS (2017-07-26). "10-nation Indian Ocean Naval Symposium ends in Pakistan". Business Standard India. http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/10-nation-indian-ocean-naval-symposium-ends-in-pakistan-117072601548_1.html.
13. ↑ "Indian Ocean Naval Symposium - 2012 | Indian Ocean Naval Symposium" (in en). http://ions.gov.in/content/indian-ocean-naval-symposium-2012.
14. ↑ "Indian Ocean Naval Symposium - 2014 | Indian Ocean Naval Symposium" (in en). http://ions.gov.in/content/indian-ocean-naval-symposium-2014.
15. ↑ "5th biennial assembly of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium kicks off in Bangladeshi capital - Xinhua | English.news.cn". http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/11/c_134998557.htm.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Indian Ocean Naval Symposium". https://www.ionsirannavy.ir/.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "India assumes the chairmanship of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium" (Press release). Press Information Bureau. 2026-02-20. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

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