• The eighth Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs was conducted by the Royal Thai Navy in Bangkok from December 19-22.

• The chiefs of navies and senior delegates from 27 member and observer countries took part in the event.

• Indian Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar attended the event with a three-member naval delegation.

• During the conclave, Thailand assumed the duties of chair of IONS and the work plan for the next two years was finalised.

• India has taken over as co-chair of the IONS Working Groups on Maritime Security and HADR for the forthcoming cycle.

• South Korea was welcomed by the conclave as the latest ‘observer’, raising the collective strength of IONS to 34 (25 members and nine observers).

What is the significance of IONS?

• The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, commonly known as IONS, is a forum to increase maritime cooperation among the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region. 

• The forum helps to preserve peaceful relations between nations. It is critical to building an effective maritime security architecture in the Indian Ocean Region.

• The symposium provides an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues that would lead to common understanding on the way ahead.

• The biennial event also serves to develop an effective response mechanism against natural disasters.

• The inaugural IONS Seminar was held by the Indian Navy in 2008. 

• The IONS initiative has grown significantly and presently enjoys wide acceptance across the Indian Ocean Region.

• IONS’ Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) is the decision-making body at the level of chiefs of navies, which meets biennially. 

• The chairmanship of IONS was held by India (2008-10), UAE (2010-12), South Africa (2012-14), Australia (2014-16), Bangladesh (2016-18) and Iran (2018-21). France assumed the chairmanship in June 2021 for a two-year tenure. 

• India is scheduled to take over as the chair of IONS (2025-27) during 9th CoC planned to be conducted in India in 2025.

Members of IONS

IONS includes 25 nations that permanently hold territory that abuts or lies within the Indian Ocean, and eight observer nations.

• South Asian Littorals: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory)

• West Asian Littorals: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar 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.

• Observers: China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain and South Korea.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store