Exercise Milan 2022: India will host 46 nations in mega naval wargames in 2022, known as Exercise Milan.

Key Points:

• India has invited a total of 46 friendly foreign countries to participate in the multinational naval exercise Milan.
• This exercise will take place in Visakhapatnam which is scheduled from February 25, 2022.
• This time besides the member countries of the QUAD (Japan, the US and Australia), the member nations of AUKUS (the UK, Australia & the US) too are going to be participating in this drill which is going to be all about interoperability and jointness in the waters.
• The countries that have been extended invitations for participation include Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Iran, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, among others.
• According to an official, India has increased its naval engagements with friendly nations at bilateral, trilateral and multilateral levels since 2018.

Theme of Exercise Milan 2022:

• The theme of this 11th edition of exercise Milan is camaraderie, cohesion and collaboration.

Key Points about Exercise MILAN 2022:

• During this phase, competent competitions and conferences will help to set the operational tone for the Sea Phase, which will take place from March 1-4.
• This Phase would be utilized to consolidate upon the lessons learnt during harbour interactions and to build upon the experience of operating together at sea.
• Both India and likeminded navies are getting together to find ways to counter the growing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region and Indo-Pacific.
• The focus will also be on ensuring the sea lanes are open and freedom of navigation.

About Milan Exercise:

• Milan is a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy.
• ('Milan' means 'Meeting' in Hindi)
• The biennial event features professional exercises and seminars, social events and sporting fixtures between participating nations.
• Milan was first held in 1995.
• Apart from the Indian Navy, the navies of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand participated in the inaugural edition.
• All editions of Milan had been hosted under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command and were held in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• In 2020, the Navy decided to hold the next edition of Milan in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh under the Eastern Naval Command.
• The biggest edition of the event ever was in 2014 when 17 nations, including India, participated in it.