Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS):

The IONS is a regional biennial forum of Indian Ocean littoral states launched by India in February 2008.
It is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues.
It endeavours to generate a flow of information between naval professionals that would lead to common understanding and possibly cooperative solutions on the way ahead. These states are represented by the heads of their navies.
Under the IONS charter of business adopted in 2014, the forum has working groups on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Information Security and Interoperability (IS&I) and maritime security (anti-piracy).
Members to IONS: There are 24 members which have been geographically grouped into the following four sub-regions:
- South Asian Littorals: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory)
- West Asian Littorals: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
- East African Littorals: France (Reunion), Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania.
- South East Asian and Australian Littorals: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs is being hosted by the French Navy at Paris, France.

IMEX-22:

IMEX-22 is the first edition of the maritime exercise conducted by the regional grouping Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).
Held in Goa.
The exercise saw the participation of 16 countries of the 25 member nations of IONS.
The exercise is said to provide a crucial platform for regional navies to collaborate and collectively respond to natural disasters in the region.
The exercise further paves the way for improving regional cooperation.

Previous Year Questions:

Q 1.) Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS): (2017)

Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.
IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (b)