INDIAN NAVAL SHIPS SAHYADRI AND KULISH CONCLUDE PARTICIPATION IN AIME 2026

1. At a Glance

• The ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) is a multilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and ASEAN navies. AIME-2026 is its second edition, held in the Philippines [1][2].
• India sent INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish. Their participation is officially linked to India's Act East Policy and the MAHASAGAR vision [1].
• It sits where three syllabus themes meet: ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, maritime security in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific, and naval diplomacy (GS-II and GS-III) [1][5].

2. Why in the News

• 03 Oct 2026: PIB (Ministry of Defence) announced that INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish had concluded participation in AIME 2026. The exercise ran in the Philippines under the theme "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea" [1].
• An earlier PIB release had announced the start of AIME-2026 at Subic Bay, Philippines, calling it the Second Edition [2].
• 2026 is the "ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation". A second AIME and a Second ASEAN-India Defence Ministers' Meeting were proposed as part of it [5].

3. Background & Evolution

• AIME-2023 (inaugural edition): the exercise ended in the South China Sea on 08 May 2023 [3][4].
• About 1,400 personnel on nine ships took part in the Sea Phase [3][4].
• India sent INS Delhi (destroyer), INS Satpura (stealth frigate), a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft and the ships' own helicopters. Both ships were designed and built in India [3][4].

• ASEAN navies from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam took part [3][4].

• 2026: designated the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation, with a second AIME proposed [5].

• AIME-2026 (second edition): started at Subic Bay, Philippines [2] and ended with a release dated 03 Oct 2026 [1].
• Policy anchor: PM Modi announced MAHASAGAR during his visit to Mauritius in March 2025. It was presented as an updated doctrine that widens the earlier Indian Ocean focus into a global maritime vision centred on the Global South [6].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Full form	ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) [1]
Edition (2026)	Second [2]
Host / venue 2026	Philippines, at Subic Bay [1][2]
Theme 2026	"Anchored in Trust, United at Sea" [1]
Indian units 2026	INS Sahyadri, INS Kulish [1]
Issuing ministry	Ministry of Defence (PIB Delhi) [1]
Structure	Opening Ceremony, then Harbour Phase, then Sea Phase [1]
Harbour Phase	Key Leaders' Engagements, sports, Yoga, Community Interaction, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, Table-Top Exercise, Operational Synchronisation, Pre-Sail Brief [1]
Sea Phase drills	HADR, VBSS (Visit-Board-Search-Seizure), Underway Replenishment [1]
Helicopter drills	Cross-deck landings, vertical replenishment, CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) [1]
INS Sahyadri	Shivalik-class guided-missile stealth frigate, designed and built in India, commissioned 2012 [8]
INS Kulish	Class not found in any whitelisted source; see Section 10
AIME-2023 scale	About 1,400 personnel, 9 ships, 7 ASEAN navies plus India [3][4]
MAHASAGAR	Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions [1][6]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Geopolitical / Strategic

• AIME puts the Act East Policy into practice at sea and gives India a multilateral naval platform with ASEAN as a group, alongside its bilateral ties [1].
• The 2023 Sea Phase took place in the South China Sea [3][4], and the 2026 edition was hosted by the Philippines [1]. Both points matter for India's stake in freedom of navigation in contested waters (analytical point).
• India framed 2026 within a wider Year of Maritime Cooperation with ASEAN, alongside defence ministers' engagement [5].

Security / Operational

• VBSS drills prepare navies for anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and maritime law-enforcement boardings [1].
• Underway and vertical replenishment drills test whether different navies can resupply each other at sea, a core measure of interoperability [1].

Humanitarian / Disaster Management

• HADR and CASEVAC drills prepare navies for joint disaster response in a region prone to cyclones and tsunamis [1].

Soft Power / Diplomacy

• The Harbour Phase included Yoga and Community Interaction, which project cultural soft power alongside military engagement [1].
• The theme "Anchored in Trust" puts confidence-building first, ahead of force projection [1].

Indigenisation (Technological)

• India has fielded indigenously designed and built warships in both editions: Delhi and Satpura in 2023 [3][4], and Sahyadri, a Shivalik-class frigate, in 2026 [8].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• Mar 2025: PM announced MAHASAGAR in Mauritius [6].
• 02 Oct 2025: INS Sahyadri called at Kemaman, Malaysia, during the Eastern Fleet's operational deployment to the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific [8].
• Oct 2025: The PM took part in the 22nd ASEAN-India Summit in Kuala Lumpur. 2026 became the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation, with a Second AIME and a Second ASEAN-India Defence Ministers' Meeting proposed [5].
• 20 Apr 2026: Rashtriya Raksha University opened the MAHASAGAR Academy, a platform for maritime security, law and capacity building [7].
• Early Oct 2026: AIME-2026 started at Subic Bay [2].
• 03 Oct 2026: India's participation ended [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• AIME = ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise [1].
• AIME-2026 was the second edition. The first was AIME-2023 [2][3].
• AIME-2026 was held at Subic Bay, Philippines [2].
• Theme of AIME-2026: "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea" [1].
• Indian ships at AIME-2026: INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish [1].
• Indian ships at AIME-2023: INS Delhi and INS Satpura, plus a P-8I aircraft [3][4].
• AIME-2023 ended in the South China Sea on 08 May 2023 [3][4].
• AIME-2023 involved about 1,400 personnel on 9 ships [3][4].
• INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class guided-missile stealth frigate, commissioned in 2012 [8].
• VBSS = Visit-Board-Search-Seizure [1].
• CASEVAC = casualty evacuation, practised as a helicopter drill in AIME-2026 [1].
• 2026 = ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation [5].
• MAHASAGAR was announced in Mauritius, March 2025 [6].
• The MAHASAGAR Academy is at Rashtriya Raksha University, opened 20 Apr 2026 [7].

8. Why Holding It in the Philippines Is a Message

• The host country is at the centre of the South China Sea dispute
• In 2016, a tribunal set up under UNCLOS (the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, the main treaty on who controls which waters) ruled on a case brought by the Philippines against China [10].
• India's official reaction was careful. It only "noted" the Award. It did not say China must follow it. It repeated its support for freedom of navigation (the right of any ship to pass through international waters) under UNCLOS [10].

• So when Indian warships train with ASEAN navies at Subic Bay, the location says something that India's words leave unsaid.

• The Philippines link was built step by step before AIME-2026

• In August 2025, India and the Philippines raised their ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted a Plan of Action (2025-29) [14].
• On 03-04 August 2025, the two navies held their first-ever bilateral maritime exercise, in the South China Sea [11].

• AIME-2026 therefore adds a group (multilateral) layer on top of a bilateral track that already exists. It is not a one-off.

• India is affected by the Code of Conduct talks but has no seat in them

• China and ASEAN are negotiating a Code of Conduct (a set of rules for behaviour) for the South China Sea. India is not a party to these talks.
• India has asked that the Code must not harm the rights of countries outside the talks and must follow UNCLOS [16].
• Exercises like AIME are one of the few ways India can show it has a stake in these waters without sitting at the table.

9. Is AIME Really About China? The Strongest Objection

• The objection, at its strongest
• The 2023 Sea Phase ended in the South China Sea [3][4], and the 2026 edition was hosted by the country that took China to court [10].

• Critics can say that calling it "Anchored in Trust" with "Yoga" in the harbour [1] is soft wrapping on what is really a signal to China. They can add that it risks pulling ASEAN into a rivalry its members do not want.

• India's official answer

• At ADMM-Plus (the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus, where ASEAN meets eight partner countries), India's Defence Minister said its stress on UNCLOS and freedom of navigation is "not against any country". He said it protects all regional stakeholders [12].
• India's Indo-Pacific vision rests on ASEAN centrality (ASEAN, not outside powers, sits in the driver's seat) [15]. The ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) lists non-intervention and inclusivity as core principles [15].

• Most of the drills were HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief), CASEVAC and replenishment [1]. These are skills for cooperation, not for fighting.

• What the objection gets right

• Geography sends a signal whatever the press release says. China will read the venue, not the theme.
• ASEAN is not united on China. Three ASEAN members, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, are missing from the 2023 participant list [3][4]. A group exercise can only go as far as its most cautious members allow.
• Honest conclusion: AIME is both confidence-building and signalling. The skill lies in keeping the signal quiet enough that ASEAN members stay willing to join.

10. Why a Three-Year Gap Weakens the Exercise

• Navies forget what they practise once
• Interoperability means navies being able to work together smoothly: common signals, resupplying each other at sea, boarding drills. It is built by repeating the same drills.
• AIME took place in 2023 and then again only in 2026 [2][3]. Ships, crews and commanders change in three years, so much of what was learnt is lost.

• The second edition came only because 2026 was named the Year of Maritime Cooperation [5]. It was triggered by an event. It was not on a fixed calendar.

• India and ASEAN should fix the calendar

• The Second ASEAN-India Defence Ministers' Meeting, proposed for 2026 [5], is the natural forum to make AIME a regular exercise.

• The ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation (2023) already commits both sides to maritime cooperation [13]. A fixed exercise cycle would turn that statement into regular practice.

• Link the drills to India's stated pillars

• India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) has seven pillars. They include Maritime Security, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, and Capacity Building and Resource Sharing [15].
• AIME's VBSS and HADR drills [1] fit the first two directly. Training given through the MAHASAGAR Academy [7] could cover the third, so the gains last between editions.

11. Anchors for Answers

• Data: AIME-2023 had about 1,400 personnel on 9 ships, with 7 ASEAN navies plus India [3][4]
• Data: India and the Philippines held their first bilateral maritime exercise on 03-04 Aug 2025, in the South China Sea [11]
• Report/Committee: ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation, 2023 [13]; India-Philippines Strategic Partnership Plan of Action, 2025-29 [14]
• Law/Case: UNCLOS 1982; the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award under Annex VII of UNCLOS (Philippines v. China), which India "noted" [10]
• Scheme: Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), whose seven pillars include maritime security and disaster risk reduction [15]; MAHASAGAR [6]

12. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: India and its neighbourhood; bilateral, regional and global groupings involving India (ASEAN, Act East).
• GS-III: Security challenges in border and maritime areas; the role of armed forces; disaster management (HADR).
• Possible question stems: 1. Multilateral naval exercises such as AIME are as much diplomatic tools as military ones. Discuss in the context of India's Act East Policy. (150 words) 2. How does the MAHASAGAR doctrine reshape India's maritime engagement with the Indo-Pacific and the Global South? (250 words) 3. Examine the significance of the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation (2026) for regional security in the South China Sea. (250 words)

13. Related Topics to Study Next

• SAGAR to MAHASAGAR: how India's maritime doctrine changed [6].
• Act East Policy: the policy frame cited for AIME [1].
• ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP): the institutional base for the 2026 maritime year [5].
• India-Indonesia-Australia trilateral maritime exercise: INS Sahyadri took part in its maiden edition [9].
• Shivalik-class frigates and warship indigenisation: a typical Prelims platform question [8].
• South China Sea disputes and UNCLOS: the strategic setting for both AIME editions [3][4].
• Other Indian Navy exercises (Malabar, JIMEX/JAIMEX, SIMBEX): common Prelims matching questions.

14. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• South China Sea (Geography): Both AIME editions are set in this contested sea, and India's stake in it drives the exercise's strategic meaning.
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Geography): The 2016 Philippines v. China ruling and India's stress on freedom of navigation both rest on this treaty.
• Indian Ocean (Geography): MAHASAGAR widens India's older Indian Ocean maritime focus into a wider Indo-Pacific and Global South vision.
• Signalling (Economy): The note argues the venue and drills send India's message to China without stating it openly.

15. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• AIME (ASEAN-India) vs JAIMEX/JIMEX (Japan-India): the acronyms look alike but the exercises are different.
• Edition and frequency: AIME-2023 was the first edition and AIME-2026 the second [2][3]. Do not assume it is annual or biennial; the gap was three years.
• Venue: the 2023 Sea Phase ended in the South China Sea [3][4]. The 2026 edition was hosted by the Philippines at Subic Bay [2]. Do not mix up the two.
• MAHASAGAR full form: it is "Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions" [6]. Do not confuse it with SAGAR ("Security and Growth for All in the Region").
• INS Kulish's class: no whitelisted source gave it. It is commonly described as a Kora-class corvette, but this note does not confirm that. Check it before relying on it, and do not confuse it with INS Sahyadri, which is a frigate [8].