Publication Details
Abstract
The inaugural Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2023), conducted between 2 and 8 May 2023, marked a watershed moment in the evolution of India-ASEAN defence relations. Co-hosted by the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy, the exercise brought together nine ships, six aircraft, and over 1,800 personnel drawn from eight nations across a harbour phase at Changi Naval Base and a sea phase conducted in international waters of the South China Sea. This paper undertakes a systematic examination of AIME-2023 as a case study in institutionalised maritime diplomacy, situating it within the broader trajectory of India's Act East Policy and its Indo-Pacific strategy. Employing a qualitative, document-based methodology drawing on official press releases, defence ministry statements, and secondary strategic-studies literature, the study analyses the exercise's operational architecture, participating assets, and geopolitical signalling function, particularly vis-à-vis rising Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. The paper further situates AIME within a comparative framework of India's other multilateral naval engagements (MILAN, Malabar, SIMBEX) to assess its distinctive contribution to regional maritime security architecture. Findings suggest that AIME-2023 represents a deliberate shift from India's traditionally bilateral naval diplomacy toward multilateral, ASEAN-centred frameworks, reinforcing India's credentials as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific while carefully avoiding overt confrontation with China. The paper concludes that institutionalising AIME as a recurring, ASEAN-anchored exercise carries significant potential to deepen functional cooperation, enhance interoperability, and consolidate a rules-based maritime order, provided that political consensus among ASEAN member states on sensitive South China Sea issues can be sustained.