AIKEYME 2025: India Deepens Africa Ties Under MAHASAGAR Maritime Vision

India-Africa Maritime Cooperation; US Military Exercises in Asia; Recent Articles

Apr 22, 2025

Hub Story: India Deepens Africa Ties Under MAHASAGAR Maritime Vision
Forging Regional Readiness: US Military Exercises with Indo-Pacific Allies
Alliance Insights: Recent Articles on Alliance Cooperation

Hub Story: India Deepens Africa Ties Under MAHASAGAR Maritime Vision

India has launched its largest-ever joint naval exercises with Africa (AIKEYME), co-hosted by Tanzania and involving eight other nations, as part of a broader effort to expand its maritime presence and counter growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean. The six-day drills included both port and sea phases, aiming to boost regional security cooperation, enhance counter-piracy operations, and position India as a preferred security partner for the eastern Africa coast.

In 2015, Prime Minister Modi announced one of his core foreign policy initiatives, Security and Growth Across Regions (SAGAR). India’s SAGAR initiative reflects a strategic shift toward a more proactive maritime posture, aiming to strengthen regional security, advance bluewater ambitions, and address complex challenges across its maritime domain. SAGAR compliments India’s other maritime-centric foreign policy initiatives like Act East Policy, Project Sagarmala, Project Mausam, India as ‘net security provider’ and its focus on Blue Economy.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi elevated SAGAR to a broader vision—Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (MAHASAGAR)—during a visit to Mauritius. For India, maritime cooperation with Africa is central to this expanded framework. Exercise AIKEYME 2025 plays a key role in advancing MAHASAGAR’s objectives by deepening regional partnerships and enhancing maritime interoperability. It reflects India’s growing commitment to a more active and inclusive maritime security posture. AIKEYME brought together Indian Ocean partners to enhance regional maritime security through coordinated naval drills and operations. The exercise featured activities such as Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS), Replenishment at Sea, ship maneuvers, and towing drills—demonstrating the growing depth of cooperation and interoperability among participating navies. While the exercises reflect New Delhi's strategic ambitions, analysts note that India still faces significant gaps in matching China’s commercial and military capabilities on the continent.

Since gaining independence in 1947, India has traditionally prioritized funding its army over its navy, largely due to ongoing border tensions with Pakistan and China. However, in recent years, New Delhi has gradually shifted focus toward strengthening its maritime capabilities. This recalibration reflects growing recognition of the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean amid China’s expanding presence and ambitions in the region. As a result, India has increasingly invested in naval modernization and deepened military diplomacy across the Indo-Pacific.

Most recently, on January 15, 2025, India commissioned three major warships—INS Nilgiri (a Project 17A frigate), INS Surat (a Project 15B destroyer), and INS Vagsheer (a Scorpene-class submarine)—in a landmark ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These vessels, built entirely at Mazagon Dock, represent significant strides in India’s naval modernization, featuring advanced sensors, weaponry, and indigenous design tailored for multi-domain warfare. The triple commissioning marks a major boost to India's maritime capabilities amid regional naval competition, particularly with China's growing presence and Pakistan’s modernization efforts. Additionally, Modi approved plans last year to significantly expand India’s fleet of nuclear-powered attack and missile submarines.

New Delhi is harnessing this naval power to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean. In 2024, India positioned itself as a key naval security provider in the Indian Ocean through expanded cooperation with South Africa and intensified joint operations with the United States. During the 12th India–South Africa Navy Staff Talks, the two sides agreed to increase joint training, establish secure information-sharing protocols, and deepen collaboration through exercises like IBSAMAR. At the same time, India and the US conducted their largest-ever amphibious drill, Tiger TRIUMPH 2024, integrating all service branches and focusing on humanitarian and disaster relief. India also launched its biggest naval deployment in response to rising piracy off Somalia, filling a regional security gap as US and UK forces prioritized the Red Sea. Altogether, these moves signaled India’s growing strategic confidence and alignment with US goals to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.

India’s recent exercises with eastern African nations are an important step toward strengthening Indo-Pacific security. While many in Washington define the Indo-Pacific as stretching from eastern India to Japan, it’s worth remembering that Prime Minister Abe Shinzo first unveiled his Indo-Pacific vision not in New Delhi, but in Nairobi, Kenya. The strategic importance of Africa’s eastern coast—underscored by recent hostilities in the Red Sea—makes it a critical, yet often overlooked, part of the Indo-Pacific landscape. The United States should find ways to support India’s growing engagement with the region, even if it lacks the bandwidth to pursue deeper ties itself. Ultimately, closer cooperation between eastern African nations and a trusted U.S. partner like India serves American strategic interests.

Forging Regional Readiness: US Military Exercises with Indo-Pacific Allies

Exercise Balikatan 2025, the 40th iteration of the largest annual U.S.-Philippines bilateral military exercise, officially began with a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, featuring over 14,000 participants and observers from more than 20 nations. U.S. and Philippine military leaders emphasized the exercise's role in strengthening interoperability across all domains—including space and cyber—and reaffirming a shared commitment to peace and regional security. The event highlights the enduring U.S.-Philippine alliance and growing multilateral cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

As part of Exercise Salaknib 2025, U.S. and Philippine Army troops conducted joint training on anti-armor tactics and jungle tracking to enhance interoperability and strengthen tactical skills. Philippine soldiers gained hands-on experience with U.S. anti-armor systems like the Javelin and TOW, while U.S. troops learned jungle warfare techniques from Philippine instructors seasoned in tropical environments. These exchanges fostered trust, mutual learning, and readiness for future joint operations in complex terrain.

Over 300 Navy Reserve Sailors participated in MAKO Sentry 2025-2, a large-scale training exercise held across multiple U.S. locations to boost readiness for maritime operations and crisis response. The exercise focused on integrating reservists into Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs) alongside active-duty forces, simulating realistic conflict scenarios with new participation from information warfare units. Leaders emphasized the training’s critical role in preparing the Reserve Force to rapidly mobilize and operate as a cohesive, warfighting-ready team in the Indo-Pacific.

The USS Blue Ridge and 7th Fleet staff completed a port visit to Cairns, Australia, from April 16–20, marking the ship’s first stop there since 2013 as part of ongoing Indo-Pacific patrols. The visit supported replenishment and strengthened U.S.-Australia ties through cultural exchanges, ship tours, and local sports events with Royal Australian Navy personnel and Cairns community members.

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Japan:

South Korea:

Taiwan:

Philippines:

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India:

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