AIME-2026: India and ASEAN Conclude Maritime Exercise at Subic Bay

Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri and Kulish concluded their participation in the second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2026) on 3 October 2026. The exercise had commenced on 28 September 2026 at Subic Bay in the Philippines and brought together the Indian Navy and the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States under the theme "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea". It ran in a harbour phase and a sea phase, with disaster relief, boarding, replenishment and casualty evacuation drills. The exercise is part of India's Act East Policy and its MAHASAGAR maritime vision.

What Happened

The second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, AIME-2026, concluded for the Indian contingent on 3 October 2026, when Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri and Kulish finished their participation. The exercise had begun on 28 September 2026 at Subic Bay in the Philippines, with the Indian Navy operating alongside the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States. The theme for the edition was "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea", and the exercise was conducted in two phases — a harbour phase and a sea phase.

When & Where

AIME-2026 ran from 28 September 2026 to 3 October 2026, with Subic Bay in the Philippines as the harbour base. Subic Bay sits on the west coast of Luzon and opens into the South China Sea, which places the exercise in one of the most heavily contested maritime zones in the Indo-Pacific. The Philippines, as an ASEAN Member State, provided the venue, and the sea phase took the participating ships into the surrounding waters.

Who Is Involved

Indian Navy — participated with two warships from its operational fleet.
INS Sahyadri — a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate, indigenously built.
INS Kulish — a Kora-class missile corvette.
Maritime forces of ASEAN Member States — the co-participants in the exercise.
The Philippines — the host country for the 2026 edition.
ASEAN — the regional grouping with which India conducts the exercise as a dialogue partner.

How It Works

The exercise is divided into a harbour phase and a sea phase, so that planning and professional exchanges happen ashore before any ship moves.
In the harbour phase, participants hold key leaders' engagements, subject matter expert exchanges, a table-top exercise, operational synchronisation and a pre-sail briefing — this is where common procedures and communication plans are agreed.
Sports, yoga sessions and community interaction are also held ashore, because the exercise is as much about familiarity between crews as about tactics.
In the sea phase, navies run Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills, which test the ability to work together in a real emergency rather than in combat.
Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills simulate boarding a suspect vessel, the core skill in anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and maritime law-enforcement work.
Underway replenishment, vertical replenishment, helicopter cross-deck landings and casualty evacuation drills build the logistics and medical interoperability that longer joint deployments need.

Why It Matters

Strategic angle: the exercise anchors India's naval presence in Southeast Asian waters and signals that India operates as a security partner in the region, not merely a trading one.
Diplomatic angle: conducting a multilateral exercise with ASEAN as a group, rather than bilaterally with individual states, strengthens India's standing in ASEAN-led regional architecture.
Operational angle: disaster relief, boarding and replenishment drills translate directly into real missions — evacuation, anti-piracy and humanitarian deployments.
Policy angle: it is a concrete instrument of the Act East Policy and the MAHASAGAR vision rather than a declaratory commitment.

Historical Background

India's engagement with Southeast Asia shifted from the Look East Policy of the early 1990s to the Act East Policy in 2014, which added a defence and security dimension to what had been largely an economic opening. India's maritime vision was articulated as SAGAR — Security and Growth for All in the Region — in 2015, and has since been carried forward as MAHASAGAR, which stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions. The maritime exercise with ASEAN as a bloc is the newest layer of this engagement, with the first edition held only in 2023.

Previous Related Events

May 2023: The first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, AIME-2023, was held from 2 to 8 May 2023, co-hosted with Singapore.
May 2023: Its harbour phase was held at Changi Naval Base in Singapore from 2 to 4 May, and the sea phase in the South China Sea from 7 to 8 May.
May 2023: INS Satpura and INS Delhi represented India at that first edition, along with a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft; nine ships, six aircraft and over 1,800 personnel took part in all.

Static GK Connection

ASEAN: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established on 8 August 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration, by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Its Secretariat is in Jakarta.
Act East Policy: adopted in 2014, it succeeded the Look East Policy begun in the early 1990s and added strategic and defence content.
SAGAR: Security and Growth for All in the Region, India's maritime cooperation doctrine articulated in 2015, now carried forward as MAHASAGAR.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982: the legal framework governing navigation rights, exclusive economic zones and dispute settlement in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

India & World Comparison

India is one of several external powers that exercise with ASEAN navies, alongside the United States, China, Japan and Australia, and the ASEAN-led format deliberately keeps each of these engagements separate so that no single partner dominates. India's distinguishing feature is the content: its ASEAN exercise is weighted towards disaster relief, boarding and replenishment rather than high-end warfighting, which fits ASEAN's own preference for non-provocative cooperation. The Indian Navy also hosts its own multilateral exercise, Milan, at Visakhapatnam, which brings a larger set of navies to Indian waters.

Future Impact

A third edition is expected in the coming years, and the rotation of hosts among ASEAN Member States will determine the venue.
Repeated drills raise the level of interoperability, which makes joint humanitarian deployments in the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea faster to assemble.
Continued Indian naval presence in Southeast Asian waters will remain a point of friction in the wider contest over the South China Sea.
Deeper exercise ties typically precede defence hardware cooperation, logistics agreements and training exchanges with individual ASEAN states.

🔑 Key Points for Revision

INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish concluded AIME-2026 on 3 October 2026.
AIME-2026 was the second edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise.
It commenced on 28 September 2026 at Subic Bay, Philippines.
The theme was "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea".
INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate.
INS Kulish is a Kora-class missile corvette.
The exercise had a harbour phase and a sea phase.
Harbour phase: table-top exercise, expert exchanges, pre-sail briefing, key leaders' engagements.
Sea phase: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills.
Sea phase also had Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills.
Underway replenishment and vertical replenishment were practised.
Helicopter cross-deck landings and casualty evacuation drills were conducted.
The exercise supports the Act East Policy and the MAHASAGAR vision.
MAHASAGAR means Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
The first edition, AIME-2023, was held from 2 to 8 May 2023 and co-hosted with Singapore.

🧠 Concept Link (Static GK Deep Dive)

Core Concept: ASEAN-India Maritime Cooperation

Definition: ASEAN-India maritime cooperation is the security strand of India's partnership with the Southeast Asian grouping, expressed through joint naval exercises, maritime domain awareness sharing and capacity building.
Constitutional / Legal Basis: There is no domestic constitutional provision. Internationally, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 supplies the legal framework for navigation and maritime jurisdiction.
Scientific / Economic Principle: The operative idea is interoperability — common signalling, formations, boarding procedures and replenishment drills that let ships from different navies work as one force at short notice.
Link to this event: AIME-2026 built exactly those skills at Subic Bay, through boarding, replenishment, cross-deck and casualty evacuation drills.
Origin & History: ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Key milestone 1: India adopted the Act East Policy in 2014, adding defence and strategic content to the earlier Look East approach.
Key milestone 2: The first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was held in May 2023, co-hosted with Singapore.
Related Acts / Schemes / Treaties: SAGAR, articulated in 2015, and its successor MAHASAGAR frame India's maritime outreach; the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative organises India's maritime cooperation pillars; the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ADMM-Plus are the security dialogues India participates in.
Nodal Ministry / Body: The Ministry of Defence and the Indian Navy conduct the exercise; the Ministry of External Affairs manages the ASEAN relationship.
India-specific relevance: A large share of India's seaborne trade transits the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, so maritime access in Southeast Asia is an economic question as much as a strategic one.
Global comparison: ASEAN runs separate exercises with several external partners, including the United States, China, Japan and Australia, so that the grouping retains the centre of the regional security architecture.
Data point: The first edition in May 2023 involved nine ships, six aircraft and over 1,800 personnel.
Common exam angle: Examiners ask for the edition number, the host country and venue, the theme, the Indian ships and their classes, and the full form of MAHASAGAR.
Easy memory hook: "Changi 2023, Subic 2026" for the two editions; MAHASAGAR = Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

❓ Practice MCQs

Q1. AIME-2026 was conducted at which venue? [Easy]

A) Changi Naval Base, Singapore

B) Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands

C) Jakarta, Indonesia

D) Subic Bay, Philippines

Answer: D

Explanation: AIME-2026 commenced at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 28 September 2026.

Q2. What was the theme of AIME-2026? [Easy]

A) "Shared Seas, Shared Future"

B) "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea"

C) "Together for a Secure Indo-Pacific"

D) "Bridges of Friendship Across Oceans"

Answer: B

Explanation: The second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was conducted under the theme "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea".

Q3. INS Sahyadri, which took part in AIME-2026, belongs to which class of warship? [Moderate]

A) Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate

B) Kolkata-class guided missile destroyer

C) Kamorta-class anti-submarine corvette

D) Talwar-class frigate

Answer: A

Explanation: INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate; the other Indian ship at AIME-2026, INS Kulish, is a Kora-class corvette.

Q4. Which edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was AIME-2026, and when did it commence? [Moderate]

A) First edition, commenced 28 September 2026

B) Second edition, commenced 3 October 2026

C) Second edition, commenced 28 September 2026

D) Third edition, commenced 1 October 2026

Answer: C

Explanation: AIME-2026 was the second edition and commenced on 28 September 2026, concluding for the Indian ships on 3 October 2026.

Q5. The first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise in 2023 was co-hosted with which country? [Moderate]

A) Philippines

B) Singapore

C) Vietnam

D) Indonesia

Answer: B

Explanation: AIME-2023 was held from 2 to 8 May 2023 with Singapore as co-host, with the harbour phase at Changi Naval Base.

Q6. MAHASAGAR, referred to in connection with AIME-2026, stands for [Tricky]

A) Maritime Harmony and Secure Growth Across Regions

B) Maritime Advancement for Shared Growth and Regional Amity

C) Multilateral Harmony Across Seas and Growth of All Regions

D) Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions

Answer: D

Explanation: MAHASAGAR stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, and it carries forward the earlier SAGAR vision of 2015.

Q7. Which of the following was part of the sea phase of AIME-2026? [Tricky]

A) Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills

B) Amphibious beach assault landings

C) Submarine-launched torpedo firing

D) Long-range ballistic missile firing

Answer: A

Explanation: The sea phase included Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills, disaster relief exercises, replenishment serials, cross-deck helicopter landings and casualty evacuation drills.

Q8. Which statement about AIME-2026 is correct? [Tricky]

A) It was a bilateral exercise between India and the Philippines only

B) It was conducted in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam

C) It involved the Indian Navy and the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States

D) It was India's first-ever naval exercise with any ASEAN country

Answer: C

Explanation: AIME-2026 was a multilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States, held at Subic Bay in the Philippines.

📜 Previous Year Question Style (PYQ)

PYQ 1:

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established in which year and through which declaration?

A) 1961, through the Belgrade Declaration

B) 1967, through the Bangkok Declaration

C) 1971, through the Kuala Lumpur Declaration

D) 1976, through the Bali Concord

Answer: B

Explanation: ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration, by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

PYQ 2:

Consider the following statements about AIME-2026:

The exercise was held at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish represented the Indian Navy.
It was the first edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only

C) 2 and 3 only

D) All of the above

Answer: B

Explanation: Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong because AIME-2026 was the second edition; the first was held in May 2023.

PYQ 3:

Assertion (A): AIME-2026 included Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills and Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills in its sea phase.

Reason (R): The exercise aims to build interoperability for joint disaster response and maritime law-enforcement tasks rather than for high-end warfighting.

A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

C) A is true but R is false

D) A is false but R is true

Answer: A

Explanation: Both drills were part of the sea phase, and both are aimed at disaster response and maritime law-enforcement interoperability, which explains their inclusion.

✍️ Mains Answer Pointers

Question 1 (150 words): Examine the significance of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise for India's Act East Policy.

The ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is the clearest security expression of the Act East Policy, which India adopted in 2014 to add strategic content to an engagement that had been largely economic. AIME-2026, held from 28 September to 3 October 2026 at Subic Bay in the Philippines, was only the second edition, and that newness is itself the point: India now exercises with ASEAN as a group, not merely with its members one at a time.

The format matters diplomatically. ASEAN-led arrangements place the grouping at the centre of regional security, and a bloc-level exercise respects that preference while still putting Indian warships into Southeast Asian waters.

The content matters operationally. Disaster relief, boarding, replenishment and casualty evacuation drills build the skills used in real deployments. The way forward is regularity — a predictable cycle with rotating ASEAN hosts, so that interoperability accumulates instead of restarting each time.

Question 2 (250 words): Discuss how India's maritime engagement with Southeast Asia has evolved, and assess the challenges it faces in the contested waters of the Indo-Pacific.

India's maritime engagement with Southeast Asia has moved through three stages. The Look East Policy of the early 1990s was essentially an economic opening after India's own liberalisation. The Act East Policy, adopted in 2014, added defence and connectivity content. The maritime doctrine was then framed as SAGAR — Security and Growth for All in the Region — in 2015, and is now carried forward as MAHASAGAR, Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

AIME-2026 shows what that evolution produces in practice. Held from 28 September to 3 October 2026 at Subic Bay in the Philippines under the theme "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea", it brought INS Sahyadri, a Shivalik-class stealth frigate, and INS Kulish, a Kora-class corvette, alongside the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States. The harbour phase settled common procedures through a table-top exercise and expert exchanges; the sea phase ran disaster relief, Visit-Board-Search-Seizure, replenishment, cross-deck and casualty evacuation drills. The first edition, in May 2023, was co-hosted with Singapore at Changi and involved nine ships, six aircraft and over 1,800 personnel.

Three challenges remain. First, ASEAN itself is not united on maritime disputes, which caps how far any external partner's security role can go. Second, the South China Sea is contested, and a sustained Indian presence invites friction with a larger naval power. Third, India's own capacity — hull numbers, logistics reach and sustainment at distance — limits how continuous that presence can be.

The balanced way forward is to keep the engagement regular, keep the content non-provocative, and invest in logistics access so that presence does not depend on episodic deployments.

⚠️ Examiner Trap

Trap 1: Students confuse AIME with India's bilateral naval exercises in the region. The correct fact is that the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is a multilateral exercise with the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States as a group, while exercises such as SIMBEX with Singapore are bilateral.
Trap 2: A common wrong assumption is that AIME-2026 was the inaugural edition. The reality is that it was the second edition; the first was held from 2 to 8 May 2023, co-hosted with Singapore, with the harbour phase at Changi Naval Base.
Trap 3: Many students miss the ship classes. Always remember that INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate while INS Kulish is a Kora-class missile corvette — the two are not of the same class.

AIME-2026: India and ASEAN Conclude Maritime Exercise at Subic Bay

What Happened

When & Where

Who Is Involved

Indian Navy — participated with two warships from its operational fleet.
INS Sahyadri — a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate, indigenously built.
INS Kulish — a Kora-class missile corvette.
Maritime forces of ASEAN Member States — the co-participants in the exercise.
The Philippines — the host country for the 2026 edition.
ASEAN — the regional grouping with which India conducts the exercise as a dialogue partner.

How It Works

The exercise is divided into a harbour phase and a sea phase, so that planning and professional exchanges happen ashore before any ship moves.
In the harbour phase, participants hold key leaders' engagements, subject matter expert exchanges, a table-top exercise, operational synchronisation and a pre-sail briefing — this is where common procedures and communication plans are agreed.
Sports, yoga sessions and community interaction are also held ashore, because the exercise is as much about familiarity between crews as about tactics.
In the sea phase, navies run Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills, which test the ability to work together in a real emergency rather than in combat.
Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills simulate boarding a suspect vessel, the core skill in anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and maritime law-enforcement work.
Underway replenishment, vertical replenishment, helicopter cross-deck landings and casualty evacuation drills build the logistics and medical interoperability that longer joint deployments need.

Why It Matters

Strategic angle: the exercise anchors India's naval presence in Southeast Asian waters and signals that India operates as a security partner in the region, not merely a trading one.
Diplomatic angle: conducting a multilateral exercise with ASEAN as a group, rather than bilaterally with individual states, strengthens India's standing in ASEAN-led regional architecture.
Operational angle: disaster relief, boarding and replenishment drills translate directly into real missions — evacuation, anti-piracy and humanitarian deployments.
Policy angle: it is a concrete instrument of the Act East Policy and the MAHASAGAR vision rather than a declaratory commitment.

Historical Background

Previous Related Events

May 2023: The first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, AIME-2023, was held from 2 to 8 May 2023, co-hosted with Singapore.
May 2023: Its harbour phase was held at Changi Naval Base in Singapore from 2 to 4 May, and the sea phase in the South China Sea from 7 to 8 May.
May 2023: INS Satpura and INS Delhi represented India at that first edition, along with a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft; nine ships, six aircraft and over 1,800 personnel took part in all.

Static GK Connection

ASEAN: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established on 8 August 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration, by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Its Secretariat is in Jakarta.
Act East Policy: adopted in 2014, it succeeded the Look East Policy begun in the early 1990s and added strategic and defence content.
SAGAR: Security and Growth for All in the Region, India's maritime cooperation doctrine articulated in 2015, now carried forward as MAHASAGAR.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982: the legal framework governing navigation rights, exclusive economic zones and dispute settlement in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

India & World Comparison

Future Impact

A third edition is expected in the coming years, and the rotation of hosts among ASEAN Member States will determine the venue.
Repeated drills raise the level of interoperability, which makes joint humanitarian deployments in the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea faster to assemble.
Continued Indian naval presence in Southeast Asian waters will remain a point of friction in the wider contest over the South China Sea.
Deeper exercise ties typically precede defence hardware cooperation, logistics agreements and training exchanges with individual ASEAN states.

🔑 Key Points for Revision

INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish concluded AIME-2026 on 3 October 2026.
AIME-2026 was the second edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise.
It commenced on 28 September 2026 at Subic Bay, Philippines.
The theme was "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea".
INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate.
INS Kulish is a Kora-class missile corvette.
The exercise had a harbour phase and a sea phase.
Harbour phase: table-top exercise, expert exchanges, pre-sail briefing, key leaders' engagements.
Sea phase: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills.
Sea phase also had Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills.
Underway replenishment and vertical replenishment were practised.
Helicopter cross-deck landings and casualty evacuation drills were conducted.
The exercise supports the Act East Policy and the MAHASAGAR vision.
MAHASAGAR means Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
The first edition, AIME-2023, was held from 2 to 8 May 2023 and co-hosted with Singapore.

🧠 Concept Link (Static GK Deep Dive)

Core Concept: ASEAN-India Maritime Cooperation

Definition: ASEAN-India maritime cooperation is the security strand of India's partnership with the Southeast Asian grouping, expressed through joint naval exercises, maritime domain awareness sharing and capacity building.
Constitutional / Legal Basis: There is no domestic constitutional provision. Internationally, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 supplies the legal framework for navigation and maritime jurisdiction.
Scientific / Economic Principle: The operative idea is interoperability — common signalling, formations, boarding procedures and replenishment drills that let ships from different navies work as one force at short notice.
Link to this event: AIME-2026 built exactly those skills at Subic Bay, through boarding, replenishment, cross-deck and casualty evacuation drills.
Origin & History: ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Key milestone 1: India adopted the Act East Policy in 2014, adding defence and strategic content to the earlier Look East approach.
Key milestone 2: The first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was held in May 2023, co-hosted with Singapore.
Related Acts / Schemes / Treaties: SAGAR, articulated in 2015, and its successor MAHASAGAR frame India's maritime outreach; the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative organises India's maritime cooperation pillars; the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ADMM-Plus are the security dialogues India participates in.
Nodal Ministry / Body: The Ministry of Defence and the Indian Navy conduct the exercise; the Ministry of External Affairs manages the ASEAN relationship.
India-specific relevance: A large share of India's seaborne trade transits the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, so maritime access in Southeast Asia is an economic question as much as a strategic one.
Global comparison: ASEAN runs separate exercises with several external partners, including the United States, China, Japan and Australia, so that the grouping retains the centre of the regional security architecture.
Data point: The first edition in May 2023 involved nine ships, six aircraft and over 1,800 personnel.
Common exam angle: Examiners ask for the edition number, the host country and venue, the theme, the Indian ships and their classes, and the full form of MAHASAGAR.
Easy memory hook: "Changi 2023, Subic 2026" for the two editions; MAHASAGAR = Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

❓ Practice MCQs

Q1. AIME-2026 was conducted at which venue? [Easy]

A) Changi Naval Base, Singapore

B) Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands

C) Jakarta, Indonesia

D) Subic Bay, Philippines

Answer: D

Explanation: AIME-2026 commenced at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 28 September 2026.

Q2. What was the theme of AIME-2026? [Easy]

A) "Shared Seas, Shared Future"

B) "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea"

C) "Together for a Secure Indo-Pacific"

D) "Bridges of Friendship Across Oceans"

Answer: B

Explanation: The second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was conducted under the theme "Anchored in Trust, United at Sea".

Q3. INS Sahyadri, which took part in AIME-2026, belongs to which class of warship? [Moderate]

A) Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate

B) Kolkata-class guided missile destroyer

C) Kamorta-class anti-submarine corvette

D) Talwar-class frigate

Answer: A

Explanation: INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate; the other Indian ship at AIME-2026, INS Kulish, is a Kora-class corvette.

Q4. Which edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise was AIME-2026, and when did it commence? [Moderate]

A) First edition, commenced 28 September 2026

B) Second edition, commenced 3 October 2026

C) Second edition, commenced 28 September 2026

D) Third edition, commenced 1 October 2026

Answer: C

Explanation: AIME-2026 was the second edition and commenced on 28 September 2026, concluding for the Indian ships on 3 October 2026.

Q5. The first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise in 2023 was co-hosted with which country? [Moderate]

A) Philippines

B) Singapore

C) Vietnam

D) Indonesia

Answer: B

Explanation: AIME-2023 was held from 2 to 8 May 2023 with Singapore as co-host, with the harbour phase at Changi Naval Base.

Q6. MAHASAGAR, referred to in connection with AIME-2026, stands for [Tricky]

A) Maritime Harmony and Secure Growth Across Regions

B) Maritime Advancement for Shared Growth and Regional Amity

C) Multilateral Harmony Across Seas and Growth of All Regions

D) Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions

Answer: D

Explanation: MAHASAGAR stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, and it carries forward the earlier SAGAR vision of 2015.

Q7. Which of the following was part of the sea phase of AIME-2026? [Tricky]

A) Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills

B) Amphibious beach assault landings

C) Submarine-launched torpedo firing

D) Long-range ballistic missile firing

Answer: A

Explanation: The sea phase included Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills, disaster relief exercises, replenishment serials, cross-deck helicopter landings and casualty evacuation drills.

Q8. Which statement about AIME-2026 is correct? [Tricky]

A) It was a bilateral exercise between India and the Philippines only

B) It was conducted in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam

C) It involved the Indian Navy and the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States

D) It was India's first-ever naval exercise with any ASEAN country

Answer: C

Explanation: AIME-2026 was a multilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States, held at Subic Bay in the Philippines.

📜 Previous Year Question Style (PYQ)

PYQ 1:

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established in which year and through which declaration?

A) 1961, through the Belgrade Declaration

B) 1967, through the Bangkok Declaration

C) 1971, through the Kuala Lumpur Declaration

D) 1976, through the Bali Concord

Answer: B

Explanation: ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration, by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

PYQ 2:

Consider the following statements about AIME-2026:

The exercise was held at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish represented the Indian Navy.
It was the first edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only

C) 2 and 3 only

D) All of the above

Answer: B

Explanation: Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong because AIME-2026 was the second edition; the first was held in May 2023.

PYQ 3:

Assertion (A): AIME-2026 included Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills and Visit-Board-Search-Seizure drills in its sea phase.

Reason (R): The exercise aims to build interoperability for joint disaster response and maritime law-enforcement tasks rather than for high-end warfighting.

A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

C) A is true but R is false

D) A is false but R is true

Answer: A

Explanation: Both drills were part of the sea phase, and both are aimed at disaster response and maritime law-enforcement interoperability, which explains their inclusion.

✍️ Mains Answer Pointers

Question 1 (150 words): Examine the significance of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise for India's Act East Policy.

Question 2 (250 words): Discuss how India's maritime engagement with Southeast Asia has evolved, and assess the challenges it faces in the contested waters of the Indo-Pacific.

The balanced way forward is to keep the engagement regular, keep the content non-provocative, and invest in logistics access so that presence does not depend on episodic deployments.

⚠️ Examiner Trap

Trap 1: Students confuse AIME with India's bilateral naval exercises in the region. The correct fact is that the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is a multilateral exercise with the maritime forces of ASEAN Member States as a group, while exercises such as SIMBEX with Singapore are bilateral.
Trap 2: A common wrong assumption is that AIME-2026 was the inaugural edition. The reality is that it was the second edition; the first was held from 2 to 8 May 2023, co-hosted with Singapore, with the harbour phase at Changi Naval Base.
Trap 3: Many students miss the ship classes. Always remember that INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate while INS Kulish is a Kora-class missile corvette — the two are not of the same class.