Discuss the significance of India–Sri Lanka bilateral naval exercises like SLINEX in the context of India's SAGAR doctrine.

Conceptualised in 2005, SLINEX is India's longest-running bilateral naval exercise with Sri Lanka, aimed at interoperability, maritime cooperation and exchange of best practices [1]. Under the SAGAR vision, such drills convert India's declared role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) into routine practice.

Operationalising SAGAR's security pillar

• The two-phase format — harbour phase (professional exchanges) and sea phase (gunnery, communication and navigation evolutions) — builds common operating procedures for anti-piracy, HADR and maritime policing [1].
• SLINEX-24, held at Visakhapatnam (17–20 Dec 2024) under the Eastern Naval Command, added joint Special Forces drills and helicopter operations [3].

Sustained defence diplomacy with a proximate neighbour

• The series has run unbroken from SLINEX-20 off Trincomalee [4] to SLINEX-25, the 12th edition, concluded at Colombo on 18 Aug 2025 [2], and now SLINEX-26 [6].
• Alternating hosting places Indian warships in Sri Lankan harbours and Sri Lankan ships in Indian ports, sustaining habits of consultation through Sri Lanka's economic crisis and political transitions.

Strategic signalling in a contested ocean

• Regular presence keeps India the first-call partner as extra-regional navies expand their footprint in the region.
• The engagement basket is widening — the IN–SLN DIVEX 2026 diving exercise extends cooperation beyond surface drills, in consonance with India's MAHASAGAR policy, the evolved expression of SAGAR [5].

Limits worth acknowledging

• SLINEX-25 involved only two ships per side over five days [1]; with Sri Lanka fielding offshore patrol vessels, the drill list stays at basic constabulary tasks rather than high-end warfighting.
• It does not touch the live irritant of arrests of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay, a recurring parliamentary concern [7].

SLINEX therefore raises the floor of the relationship rather than its ceiling — it buys continuity, trust and a working channel when crises strike. Extending the sea phase to a jointly agreed boarding-and-handover drill for fishing boats would let this goodwill address an everyday grievance, making SAGAR's promise of "security and growth for all" tangible for coastal communities on both shores.