17 January 2026·PIB

INDIAN NAVY'S FIRST TRAINING SQUADRON ARRIVES AT CHANGI NAVAL BASE, SINGAPORE

In this note

1. At a Glance

First Training Squadron (1TS) of the Indian Navy made a port call at Changi Naval Base, Singapore on 15 Jan 2026 as part of a training deployment to the South East Indian Ocean Region [1].
Squadron composition: INS Tir, INS Shardul, INS Sujata and ICGS Sarathi (Indian Coast Guard ship integrated) [1].
Significance: dovetails with "ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation 2026" and India's chairmanship of IONS — a live example of Act East + SAGAR/MAHASAGAR vision in action [1][2][3].

1TS arrival at Changi Naval Base on 15 Jan 2026 [1].
Coincides with the ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation 2026 [1].
Part of a sequence: India assumed IONS Chairmanship from Royal Thai Navy (9th Conclave of Chiefs, Visakhapatnam, 20 Feb 2026) and hosted MILAN 2026 with 74 nations [2][3].

First Training Squadron is the Navy's flagship sea-training formation for officer cadets/midshipmen post-INA Ezhimala; conducts long overseas Foreign Cooperation Cruises (FCC) annually.
India–Singapore naval ties: SIMBEX (Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercise) running since 1994 — Indian Navy's longest uninterrupted bilateral exercise.
ASEAN–India Dialogue Partnership (1992 → Strategic Partnership 2012 → Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2022); 2026 designated as Year of Maritime Cooperation [1].
IONS founded 2008 by India; India returns to chair after 16 years in 2026 [2].

Event: 1TS port call, Changi Naval Base, Singapore, 15 Jan 2026 [1].
Ships: INS Tir (lead training ship), INS Shardul (LST), INS Sujata (OPV), ICGS Sarathi [1].
Host Navy: Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) [1].
Parent ministry: Ministry of Defence, Government of India; release issued via PIB Delhi [1].
Theme year: ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation 2026 [1].
IONS Conclave 9th edition: Visakhapatnam, 20 Feb 2026; 33 countries represented [2].
MILAN 2026: largest ever, 74 nations participating [3].
Vision frameworks: SAGAR (2015) → MAHASAGAR (announced 2025) — Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions [2].

Geopolitical / Strategic

Reinforces Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific outreach; Singapore is India's logistics access hub in SE Asia (mutual logistics arrangement, 2017).
Counterweight signalling in the South China Sea/Malacca approaches without explicit naming of any state.
Operationalises India's IONS chairmanship agenda — IMEX, IOS SAGAR deployments, info-sharing workshops [2].

Economic / Maritime

~80% of India's external trade by volume transits the Indian Ocean; Strait of Malacca chokepoint adjacency makes Singapore strategically pivotal.
ASEAN is India's 4th largest trading partner; maritime connectivity underwrites trade resilience.

Administrative / Joint-ness

Deployment includes an Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS Sarathi) under a Navy-led squadron — example of inter-service maritime coordination [1].

Scientific / Capacity Building

Structured training exchanges, joint yoga sessions, naval band performances — soft power + capability enhancement track [1].

15 Jan 2026 — 1TS arrives Changi Naval Base [1].
Feb 2026 — MILAN 2026 hosted by India; 74 nations [3].
20 Feb 2026 — 9th IONS Conclave of Chiefs, Visakhapatnam; India assumes chairmanship [2].
2025 — MAHASAGAR vision announced by PM, extending SAGAR globally [2].
IOS SAGAR deployments continue to IONS member nations [2].

1TS arrived Changi Naval Base, 15 Jan 2026 [1].
Squadron ships: INS Tir, INS Shardul, INS Sujata, ICGS Sarathi [1].
2026 = ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation [1].
India's host counterpart: Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) [1].
IONS founded 2008 by Indian Navy; current chair (2026) = India, took over from Royal Thai Navy [2].
9th IONS Conclave of Chiefs held at Visakhapatnam; 33 countries represented [2].
MILAN 2026 largest ever with 74 nations [3].
MAHASAGAR = Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (2025) [2].
SAGAR doctrine announced 2015 (Mauritius).
SIMBEX = India–Singapore bilateral naval exercise, since 1994.
ICGS Sarathi is an Indian Coast Guard vessel, NOT Indian Navy [1].
Deployment region: South East Indian Ocean Region (IOR) [1].

GS-II — International Relations: India and its neighbourhood / bilateral & regional groupings (ASEAN, Act East).
GS-III — Internal Security: Security challenges in the maritime domain; role of Indian Navy in Indo-Pacific.
Possible question stems: 1. "Discuss how India's chairmanship of IONS and the ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation 2026 advance the SAGAR/MAHASAGAR vision." (GS-II) 2. "Examine the role of overseas naval deployments and exercises in shaping India's Act East Policy." (GS-II) 3. "Singapore is a linchpin of India's Indo-Pacific strategy. Analyse." (GS-II)

SIMBEX — longest bilateral naval exercise; Singapore.
MILAN 2026 — biennial Indian Navy multilateral exercise.
IONS — origin, members, working groups (HADR, Maritime Security, Info-Sharing).
SAGAR & MAHASAGAR doctrines — evolution of Indian maritime vision.
Act East Policy — pivot from Look East (1992) to Act East (2014).
ASEAN–India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2022).
IOS SAGAR initiative — Indian Navy capacity-building deployments.
QUAD Malabar Exercise — complementary Indo-Pacific construct.

ICGS Sarathi is Coast Guard, not Navy — easy MCQ trap on ship prefixes (INS vs ICGS).
IONS ≠ IORA: IONS is naval (MoD, 2008); IORA is economic-political (MEA, 1997).
SAGAR (2015) ≠ MAHASAGAR (2025) — don't conflate; MAHASAGAR is the global extension.
India is IONS chair in 2026, not founding chair only — founded it in 2008 and chairs again 2026.
Visit was to Changi Naval Base, Singapore — not Sembawang or any commercial port.
ASEAN–India theme for 2026 is Maritime Cooperation; earlier years had different themes (e.g., Tourism 2025).