The Diplomat, April 11th, 2025
An Indian Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV), INS Sunayna, was flagged off from Karwar naval base on a mission of multinational cooperation on April 5 by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
On board with the crew are 44 naval trainees from nine Friendly Foreign Nations (FFNs): Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
The Indian Navy takes pride in functioning as the “preferred security partner” in the northern Indian Ocean. Over the years, this has involved policing the “international sea lines of communication” (SLOCs) that run through these waters, functioning as “gatekeeper of the global commons” and enforcing “freedom of navigation and overflight” in the vast maritime area between the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca.
India’s leadership in the security matrix of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) began in December 2004, when the Indian Navy’s lightning-quick response to the Indian Ocean tsunami made the United States Pacific Command and the Pentagon realize that here was a regional partner worth having. It was quickly followed by the renewal of the Defense Framework Agreement of 2005, and a growing strategic cooperation that led directly to the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Agreement. From there, it was but a short hop to India’s designation as a Major Defense Partner in 2016 and the inking of three “foundational defense agreements” shortly thereafter.
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