By: Ammar Nainar
It may appear sometimes that India is conducting military exercises with everyone everywhere. For example, India has conducted exercises with France, Oman, Sri Lanka, the United States, and led a multinational combat air exercise (Tarang Shakti) in the past three weeks. This has not always been the case though. In the past, India’s military exercises were infrequent and sporadic. For example, India held naval exercises with the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries in the Indian Ocean in the 1950s and a rare joint air exercise (Shiksha) with the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia in 1963.
Today, a more careful examination of India’s military exercises shows how they are indicative of India’s new diplomatic partnerships and priorities. Its most sophisticated exercises take place with Quad partners (the United States, Japan, and Australia) along with older partners, such as France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. But its numerous military exercises also indicate a priority on near neighbors and in India’s extended neighborhood including in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
India’s bilateral exercises with its Quad partners today involve all three services and are of greater sophistication. They include the deployment of combat capabilities and practice in areas such as the Himalayas, Alaska, Guam, and Japan. The Malabar exercise between the four countries’ navies represent joint efforts in war planning, combined operations, maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare. Similarly, all the four air forces exercised together in the second phase of the Tarang Shakti exercise. Here, Indian and American fighter pilots flew sorties together and practiced for close air support missions. Sometimes, Japan also participates as an observer in U.S.-India bilateral exercises such as the Cope India air exercise in 2023. In 2019, Japanese, American, and Indian navies along with Philippines conducted exercises in the South China Sea too.
India’s military exercises with Russia, the United Kingdom, and France represent older partnerships yet remain important. Russia and the United Kingdom are the only two countries — besides the United States — with whom India conducts tri-service exercises. France and India hold joint exercises with additional countries like the United Arab Emirates (Desert Knight), and Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (La Perouse).
In South Asia, India regularly exercises with five countries: Bangladesh, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. With Bangladesh and Myanmar, India undertakes coordinated naval patrols along their shared maritime boundaries. With Sri Lanka, army exercises now involve some air force personnel too. With Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, the Indian Air Force also once conducted a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise (Samvedna).
Beyond the immediate neighborhood, India conducts military exercises with partner countries in Southeast Asia, East Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It is increasingly convening multinational exercises, which began in 1995 when Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand participated in the Indian Navy-led MILAN exercise. Today, the same exercise convenes 50 countries including nations as far away as Canada, Peru, and South Korea. Furthermore, 11 countries participated in the Indian Air Force’s Tarang Shakti exercise: Australia, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Overall, such military exercises support India’s diplomatic priorities by building interoperability between militaries, extending diplomatic goodwill, and sharing best practices.
Ammar Nainar is a Junior Fellow and Program Assistant at ORF America.