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“Not regular activity”: India on Brics naval exercise
The Will for Peace 2026 exercise, hosted by South Africa and operationally led by China, was held during Jan 9-16 near Simon’s Town, a strategic port located near junction of Indian & Atlantic Oceans
The Brics naval exercise held off the coast of South Africa, which India didn’t join, was not a regular or institutionalised activity of the grouping and all Brics members didn’t participate in it, the external affairs ministry said on Saturday .
The Will for Peace 2026 exercise, hosted by South Africa and operationally led by China, was held during January 9-16 near Simon’s Town, a strategic port located near the junction of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. China and Iran sent destroyers, Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvettes and South Africa deployed a frigate.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to media queries about India’s non-participation in the exercise by saying that the drill “was entirely a South African initiative in which some Brics members took part”.
He said: “It was not a regular or institutionalised Brics activity, nor did all Brics members take part in it. India has not participated in previous such activities.”
The regular exercise that India is part of in this context is the IBSAMAR maritime exercise, which brings together the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The last edition of this exercise was held in October 2024.
Reports have suggested that India stayed away from the Will for Peace 2026 exercise as it was led by China and featured several countries that have adversarial relations with the US. Brazil too didn’t send warships for the exercise and limited its role to being an observer.
The exercise focused activities such as search and rescue operations, maritime strike simulations, and communication and interoperability drills. Chinese officials said Egypt, Indonesia and Ethiopia joined the drill as observers.
