India invites 41 countries for naval exercise "Milan 2020", leaves China & Pak out

India has reportedly invited 41 countries for its multilateral naval exercise "Milan 2020", scheduled for March 2020 in Visakhapatnam, where it has left out China, Pakistan and Turkey. The major countries invited for the exercise include the US, the UK, Japan, Australia, and Russia. Apart from these, France, Sri Lanka, Iran, Bangladesh, UAE, Israel, Qatar, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Egypt, Kenya, among others have also been invited. 

Possible reasons for their exclusion

India’s decision to exclude China and Turkey could be seen from the prism of their stance on the Kashmir issue. Both countries had criticised India’s move to abrogate the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and turn it into Union Territory. India lashed out at both countries saying it was country’s internal matter. India had emphasized that the exercise will be held with ‘friendly foreign navies’ which automatically removed the possibility of inviting Pakistan amid escalated tension between the two countries.

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Mid Planning Conference held

On November 06, a three-day Mid Planning Conference was held at HQENC Visakhapatnam for MILAN exercise which was attended by 29 delegates from 17 nations. Commodore Sanjiv Issar had briefed on the broad programme of MILAN 2020 and scope of exercise were discussed in detail with the delegates of the participating countries during the conference. MILAN started in 1995 as a biennial event and had been conducted at Andaman and Nicobar Command until 2018. For the first time, the exercise will be conducted on the mainland at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) in 2020.

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'Historic occasion for the Indian navy'

MILAN 2020 is aimed to enhance professional interaction between friendly foreign navies and learn from each other’s strengths and best practices in the maritime domain. During Independence Day celebrations, a Ceremonial Parade was held at the ENC comprising of platoons of naval personnel drawn from various ships and establishments. Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain urged everyone to prepare for the mega event calling it a historic occasion for the Indian Navy.

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(With inputs from agencies)