- Strategic Naval Exercise: From 1–3 June 2025, the EU and India will hold a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean, involving Indian Navy ships and EU vessels from Operation ATALANTA, focusing on interoperability, counter-piracy, and maritime communication.
- India’s Central Role: The exercise highlights India’s growing leadership in the Indo-Mediterranean, following increased cooperation not only with Europe but also with African navies, as part of a broader regional security architecture.
- Deepening EU-India Alignment: This drill builds on recent diplomatic milestones, including high-level visits and dialogues, and reflects a shared commitment to a free, open, and rules-based maritime order across the Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean.
From 1 to 3 June 2025, the European Union and India will conduct a joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, involving ships from the Indian Navy and two European frigates – Italy’s Antonio Marceglia and Spain’s Reina Sofía – deployed under Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA. Supervised by their respective Maritime Operations Centres, the exercise will focus on advanced counter-piracy operations, tactical manoeuvres, interoperability, and enhanced communication protocols.
Far from being an isolated initiative, this exercise reflects India’s growing centrality as a maritime power in the Indo-Mediterranean, and its role as a regional anchor for security and cooperation. In recent years, India has intensified its naval engagements not only with Europe but also with African nations, as demonstrated by joint activities like Exercise Aikeyme.
This proactive posture underlines how New Delhi is building a coherent arc of influence and operational presence from the Western Indian Ocean to the Eastern Mediterranean, making it the natural reference point for actors looking to ensure maritime stability in the region. The exercise builds on sustained diplomatic and operational dialogue, including the visit of the EU College of Commissioners to India in February 2025 and the fourth EU-India Maritime Security Dialogue in March, which reinforced mutual objectives on maritime domain awareness and countering illicit maritime activities.
In April, Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano, commander of Operation ATALANTA, visited India to deepen cooperation with the Indian Navy. Over the past years, the partnership has expanded through joint operations in the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Aden, and Indian Navy escorts for World Food Programme vessels coordinated by EUNAVFOR. Originating as an anti-piracy mission, ATALANTA has evolved to address broader maritime threats, including arms smuggling, narcotics, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing – concerns that also align with Indian strategic interests.
Beyond shared commitments to a free, open, and rules-based maritime order under UNCLOS, this collaboration reflects a shift in the EU’s approach to the Indo-Pacific, recognising India not only as a bilateral partner but as a regional enabler of multilateral maritime governance. As the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor gains prominence, the security dimension of EU-India cooperation becomes more tangible and necessary.
India’s engagement is not limited to symbolic gestures; it delivers concrete interoperability, supports global humanitarian missions, and ensures credible deterrence in contested waters. In an increasingly fragmented global seascape, India is emerging as the operational and strategic fulcrum of the Indo-Mediterranean.
