Non-traditional maritime security cooperation (SAR, HADR, hydrography) has become a cornerstone of naval diplomacy. Examine India's role in the South China Sea region.

Non-traditional maritime security (NTS) cooperation covers search and rescue (SAR), humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) and hydrography. Through it, navies build trust without appearing as rivals. In September 2026, INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish joined the 23rd ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Joint Cooperation Activity at Subic Bay, Philippines [1]. This shows India using that low-friction route in the South China Sea (SCS).

Why NTS cooperation anchors naval diplomacy

• Acceptable to all: ADMM-Plus brings ASEAN together with eight Dialogue Partners, including the US, China and Russia [2]. Rescue and medical drills are tasks no member objects to.
• Interoperability: The Sea Phase covered SAR, casualty evacuation, hydrographic survey, deck-landing qualification and help to grounded vessels [1]. These shared procedures pay off in real emergencies.
• Norm-building: The harbour talks covered the ANCM-GMI guidelines for maritime interaction and marine environmental protection [1].

India's role in the SCS region

• Policy frame: The deployment was framed under the Act East Policy and MAHASAGAR [1].
• Sustained presence: Sahyadri called at Kemaman, Malaysia, on an SCS deployment [3]. It also exercised with the Philippine Navy before a port call at Manila [4].
• Minilateral formats: Sahyadri took part in the maiden India–Indonesia–Australia trilateral maritime exercise [5].
• Principled stance: India issued a statement on the 2016 arbitral award under UNCLOS Annex VII [6]. It says its stress on freedom of navigation is "not against any country" [7].
• Aatmanirbharta: Sahyadri is an indigenously designed and built stealth frigate [4].

Limitations

• Non-binding: ANCM-GMI are guidelines, not a treaty [1]. Consensus forums avoid disputed-water tasks, so they build trust but do not deter coercion.
• Scale: Two ships for five days carries limited weight on its own [1].
• Balancing strain: The host (Philippines) and co-chair (Japan) both have maritime disputes with China [1]. If tensions rise, India's neutral framing becomes harder to hold.

NTS cooperation gives India a low-cost, high-legitimacy way into the SCS, though it builds confidence rather than deterrence. India co-chairs the counter-terrorism Experts' Working Group with Malaysia for 2024–27 [8]. It should next seek to co-chair the maritime security group and deepen bilateral hydrography and HADR support. Anchored in UNCLOS and SDG 14, this would advance MAHASAGAR's vision of shared security and growth across the region.