SLINEX-26: India-Sri Lanka Maritime Exercise Ends in Visakhapatnam

The correct answer is Sri Lanka. SLINEX is the bilateral maritime exercise held between the Indian Navy and the Sri Lanka Navy, and its name itself is formed from the two countries. The 13th edition, SLINEX-26, was conducted from 17 to 21 September 2026 and concluded at Visakhapatnam, with a harbour phase of professional exchanges and cross-deck visits followed by a sea phase of coordinated manoeuvres, air operations, night replenishment at sea and Special Forces drills. Option A, Bangladesh, is wrong because the exercise India conducts with the Bangladesh Navy carries a different name and did not feature in this release. Option C, Maldives, is wrong for the same reason; no Maldivian participation was reported in this exercise. Option D, Indonesia, is wrong because the release describes SLINEX strictly as an India-Sri Lanka bilateral activity, with no third navy taking part. The Ministry of Defence connected the drill to the MAHASAGAR vision and the Neighbourhood First policy.

The correct answer is 13th. The Ministry of Defence described the exercise held from 17 to 21 September 2026 as the 13th edition of the India-Sri Lanka bilateral maritime exercise, and it concluded at Visakhapatnam. Editions are the detail most often asked about recurring exercises, so the number should be memorised along with the venue and the year. Option A, the 11th, and option B, the 12th, refer to earlier editions of the series and not to the one that ended in September 2026. Option D, the 14th, would be a future edition and has not yet been held. The exercise ran in two phases: a harbour phase with cross-deck visits and sporting interaction, and a sea phase with coordinated manoeuvres, air operations, night replenishment at sea, slithering operations and Visit, Board, Search and Seizure drills that build interoperability between the two navies.

The correct answer is Visit, Board, Search and Seizure. The release lists VBSS among the Special Forces drills carried out in the sea phase of SLINEX-26, along with slithering operations. VBSS is the standard boarding procedure by which a naval team stops a suspicious vessel, goes aboard, searches it and, where the law allows, seizes it, and it is the core skill in anti-piracy and anti-smuggling operations in the Indian Ocean Region. Option B, Vessel Berthing and Safety Standards, is invented and describes harbour regulation rather than a naval drill. Option C, Visual Beacon Signalling System, is a made-up equipment name and not a Special Forces activity. Option D, Vertical Boarding and Sea Survey, mixes two unrelated ideas and does not appear in the release. The sea phase also covered coordinated manoeuvres, air operations and replenishment at sea carried out at night.