Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

There are 5 oceans in the world: The Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Since many countries share their boundaries with these oceans, oceans are an important strategic point for any country. Each country tries to dominate the oceans. The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world. Hence, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was formed, a forum for Indian ocean littoral states. Regional maritime issues could be discussed during these meetings, and friendly relations among the member nations are promoted.

The Indian Ocean

Before learning about the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, let us first learn about the Indian Ocean. Among the five oceans around the World, the Indian ocean is the third-largest. The Indian Ocean is also the only ocean named after a country, that is India. Asia lies to the North of the Indian Ocean, and Africa lies to its west. Towards the east of the Indian Ocean lies the continent of Australia. Many seas and other water bodies run along the coast of the Indian ocean like the Arabian sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, etc. 

Rivers, climate and Oceanography of the Indian Ocean

The rivers that form the Indian ocean are shorter than those that form the other oceans. The average length is about 740 kilometres. The major and the largest rivers of the Indian ocean are Jubba, Indus, Zambezi, Murray, Ganges-Brahmaputra and the Limpopo rivers. Large scale tropical warm pool at the core of the Indian ocean interacts with the atmosphere and affects the climate of the nearby region and the global climate. The Indian Ocean monsoon, which is regarded as the strongest monsoon on the earth, is caused by the continent, which leads to large-scale ocean currents. The Indian Ocean also has the highest temperature among all the other oceans globally. Research shows that the release of greenhouse gases and changes in the Indian Ocean Dipole led to such high temperatures in the Indian Ocean. Now let us learn about the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

The Indian Ocean Naval symposium conducts meetings and discussions among the Indian Ocean littoral states. The cooperation between the Indian Ocean naval Symposium members is promoted through such meetings. The cooperation regarding maritime security between the various nations could also be ensured with the help of these meetings. 

Let us learn about the purpose of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.

Purpose and duties of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

• The functioning of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium is somewhat similar to that of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium.
•  It works as a security construct for all the maritime regions part of the Indian Ocean.
• The navies of the member states who are part of this organisation, along with Maritime security agencies, maintain an environment of Harmony regarding all activities in the Indian Ocean. 
• The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium also arranges various lectures, workshops and essay competitions related to its objectives.

Editions of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

The first edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was held in 2008 in India. The location at which the symposium is to be conducted and the chairperson presiding over the symposium keeps rotating among the various member nations. The 6th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was held in Tehran, which is the capital of Iran, in April of 2018. The coastal states from the Caspian Sea also took part in this symposium for the first time during the sixth edition. Let us now learn about the members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium members

32 member navies are part of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. 24 of them are granted the status of members, while the other 8 have the status of observers.

The members of IONS are:

• South Asian:  Countries of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, etc.
• West Asian: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Iran.
• East African: Kenya, France, South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania, etc.
• South-East Asian and Australian: Australia, Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia,  Thailand, etc.

The states which have the observer status in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium are:

• Japan
• Italy
• Germany
• China
• Russia
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Madagascar

Conclusion:

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of all the oceans. Many countries share a coast with the Indian Ocean. Hence, harmonious relations between these countries should be ensured, and security should be maintained. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was formed with this goal in mind. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium holds meetings every two years in which the security and conflict issues of member nations are also resolved. The member nations of IONS are India, Pakistan, Oman, Australia, Netherlands, South Africa, etc. The IONS also holds workshops and essay competitions related to their objectives.