India defends decision to skip Brics naval drill

NEW DELHI: The Indian government has defended its decision to not participate in the "Brics Naval Exercise", saying it was purely a South African initiative in which not all Brics members took part.

The naval exercise was not a regular or institutionalised Brics activity, said the ministry of external affairs.

"India has not participated in previous such activities. The regular exercise that India is a part of in this context is the IBSAMAR (India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime) exercise that brings together the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The last edition of IBSAMAR was held in Oct 2024," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.




The ministry was responding to queries related to India's absence from the "so-called Brics naval exercise". India will hold chairship of Brics in 2026 and external affairs minister S Jaishankar said last week that the grouping of emerging markets and developing economies remained an important forum for greater dialogue and cooperation, and practical responses, taking into account different national priorities and stages of development.

The joint exercise held in South African waters included the navies of China, Russia, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The week-long military wargame took place amid increasing tensions in Iran over possible military strikes on the country following its crackdown on anti-govt protesters.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Brics for looking to challenge American economic hegemony by moving away from the US dollar. India, however, maintains that it will not back any BRICS push for "de-dollarisation". Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
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