First BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise Ends at Sri Vijaya Puram

The navies of the Bay of Bengal grouping have held their first joint maritime security exercise. The maiden BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise concluded at Sri Vijaya Puram on 3 November 2026 after five days of activity that began on 30 October 2026. The Ministry of Defence reported the culmination on 6 November 2026.

The host command

The exercise was run under the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), which is India's only operational command that brings all services under one head. It is led by Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty, Commander-in-Chief of the ANC. For the command, staging the first exercise of this kind confirms its role in regional maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal.

Ships that took part

Who attended

Senior figures from member states joined the event. They included Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of BIMSTEC; Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (Retd), India's National Maritime Security Coordinator; Rear Admiral Kyaw Kyaw Htoo, Commander of the Myanmar Navy's Central Naval Command; Air Vice Marshal MDR Prasad (Retd) of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation; and Captain Mohammad Monzurul Islam, Commanding Officer of BNS Prottoy from Bangladesh.

Background and phases

The drill follows the spirit of the Delhi Declaration and builds on the 4th BIMSTEC Experts Group Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation, held in November 2025. Its aim was to improve how the participating navies operate together and to deepen professional contact between them.

• Harbour phase at Sri Vijaya Puram: high-level meetings, professional exchanges and cultural programmes.
• Sea phase off Sri Vijaya Puram on 2 and 3 November 2026: coordinated deployments and joint operational drills.

Why it matters

The exercise is seen as a first step towards making maritime engagement among BIMSTEC members a regular, institutional practice, and towards a secure, resilient and open Bay of Bengal. It also gives a base for further joint work under the BIMSTEC framework. Aspirants should link three facts: the first edition, the host command (ANC) and the venue (Sri Vijaya Puram).