India and the Maldives have participated in at least seven major joint and multinational military exercises over the past two and a half years, alongside continued Indian support for Maldivian defence capabilities.
MALÉ, Maldives — Three Indian maritime training vessels arrived in Malé on Wednesday, October 21, as part of an overseas deployment aimed at strengthening military cooperation, maritime security and professional exchanges between India and the Maldives.
The visiting vessels — INS Tir, INS Sujata and Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Sarathi — form part of the Indian Navy's First Training Squadron.
The Indian High Commission in the Maldives said the deployment includes joint training activities, professional exchanges and community outreach programmes intended to strengthen maritime cooperation and longstanding ties between the two countries.
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) welcomed the ships, highlighting opportunities for personnel from both countries to exchange operational experience and strengthen professional skills.
Commanding officers of the three vessels also met MNDF Chief of Defence Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy in Malé as part of the official engagements accompanying the visit.
The deployment comes amid continuing defence cooperation between Malé and New Delhi, covering military training, maritime surveillance, operational preparedness, disaster response and defence infrastructure development.
At Least Seven Major Military Exercises Since 2024
Over the past two and a half years, Indian and Maldivian forces have participated in at least seven major publicly documented bilateral, trilateral and multinational military exercises, reflecting the regularity of defence engagement between the two countries.
Among these were two editions of Exercise Ekatha, a bilateral maritime training programme between the Indian Navy and the MNDF. The seventh edition was conducted in the Maldives between October and November 2024, while the eighth took place in November and December 2025.
The exercises focused on strengthening maritime operational capabilities, including boarding operations, tactical diving, firing drills, specialised naval procedures and coordination between the two forces.
The Indian Army and MNDF also conducted two editions of Exercise Ekuverin during 2025.
The 13th edition was held in the Maldives in February 2025, followed by the 14th edition in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, from December 2 to 15. The latter involved 45 Indian Army personnel and an equal number of MNDF personnel, with training focused on counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and coordinated military operations.
In May 2025, India and the Maldives conducted their first dedicated bilateral Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise, involving INS Sharda and MNDF personnel. The training focused on emergency response, search and rescue, medical assistance and coordination during natural disasters.
The Maldives also hosted the 17th edition of Exercise Dosti in January 2026, bringing together the Coast Guards of India, Maldives and Sri Lanka for maritime security, search and rescue, pollution response and other coordinated operations.
More recently, MNDF personnel participated in the multinational Exercise PRAGATI 2026 in Meghalaya, India, during May, alongside military personnel from 11 other foreign countries.
These seven major exercises do not include shorter joint maritime manoeuvres, passage exercises, individual training courses or professional exchanges conducted during naval port visits.
India Continues Defence Training and Equipment Support
India remains one of the Maldives' principal defence training and capacity-building partners.
According to the Indian High Commission's published bilateral cooperation information, India provides approximately 70 percent of the MNDF's defence training requirements and has trained more than 1,500 Maldivian military personnel over a ten-year period.
Maldivian personnel have received training at Indian military institutions in areas ranging from military leadership and specialist operations to maritime security, aviation and medical services.
Indian assistance has also extended to defence equipment, logistical support, maritime surveillance capabilities and the maintenance of MNDF assets.
In April 2025, the MNDF Coast Guard vessel Huravee returned to the Maldives following a refit undertaken in India, accompanied by the Indian Navy's guided-missile destroyer INS Kochi.
A further milestone came in July 2025, when President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Maldives' new 11-storey Ministry of Defence headquarters in Malé, constructed with Indian financial assistance.
During the same visit, India also handed over 72 vehicles and other equipment for the MNDF and Maldives Immigration, reinforcing its support for operational and institutional capacity.
India is additionally supporting the development of the MNDF's Ekatha harbour project at Uthuru Thila Falhu, a major defence infrastructure initiative intended to improve maritime operational capabilities.
Maritime Security Remains a Shared Priority
Defence cooperation gained renewed emphasis during President Muizzu's official visit to India in October 2024, when both governments adopted a comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership framework.
The agreement outlined cooperation in defence equipment, surveillance systems, maritime security, disaster response, information sharing and military training.
For the Maldives, whose territory encompasses a vast maritime area, these areas of cooperation are particularly important in addressing illegal fishing, drug trafficking, transnational crime, search and rescue requirements and other security challenges.
The latest arrival of the Indian training squadron represents another engagement under this wider defence partnership, providing military personnel from both countries with opportunities to strengthen coordination and practical maritime capabilities while maintaining security cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.
