Indian Navy IOR Security with IOS Sagar: The recent tension around the Strait of Hormuz has once again shown why sea chokepoints are so important for the whole world. These are narrow sea routes where a huge amount of trade moves every day. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the biggest of them all. It links the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is one of the world’s most important oil routes. In 2025, nearly 34% of global crude oil trade moved through this strait. About one-fifth of global LNG trade also passes through it.
The Indian Ocean is one of the busiest and most important water regions in the world. It connects the eastern and western sides of global trade. Ships carrying oil, gas, goods, and raw materials move through it all the time.
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The ocean is also linked to other major chokepoints. These include Bab El Mandeb, which opens the way to the Suez Canal, and the Malacca Strait, Sunda Strait, and Lombok Strait. If any of these routes are disturbed, trade can slow down and prices can rise in many parts of the world.
India’s Place in the Indian Ocean
In this whole region, India holds a very important place. On the map, India stretches deep into the Indian Ocean, and because of this location, it sits close to many major sea routes. As one of the biggest economies in the region and a country with rising global influence, India has a major role in helping keep these waters safe and open.
Commodore Anil Jai Singh (retd), who has commanded three submarines and a ship, explained this clearly. He said, “India is a pivotal state in the Indian Ocean Region. 50% 0f the global economy passes through the Indian Ocean Region. Ensuring the security of the maritime region means ensuring trade security, food security and energy security,”
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The value of the Indian Ocean has been understood for a very long time. Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, one of the best-known naval thinkers in history, once said, “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean will dominate Asia. This ocean is the key to the seven seas in the 21st century. The destiny of the world will be decided in these waters” That line is still quoted today because it captures how powerful this ocean is in world affairs.
A very large share of the world’s energy supplies, goods, and manufactured products moves across the Indian Ocean. The ocean directly joins Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and through connected waters it links to the wider world too.
Indian Navy’s Work
The Indian Navy has been active across this region for years. Many people first noticed how far it could operate during the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. At that time, the Indian Navy was one of the first forces to respond in the region.
It provided strong help and logistics support during the disaster. Over the years, it has also helped rescue Indian citizens from conflict-hit places such as Libya, Lebanon, and Yemen.
How India is Building Regional Security?
India is now trying to shape a wider security system in the Indian Ocean with partner nations. The Indian Navy says it is working with countries in the region under the MAHASAGAR approach. This idea is based on shared safety and trusted cooperation. The aim is to create a common security space where countries work together, stay present at sea, and respond better to threats.
As part of this effort, the Navy has used INS Sunayna as the Indian Ocean Ship, or IOS SAGAR, for overseas regional deployment. This programme is meant to support joint training, shared deployment, and closer professional contact between friendly countries. In the current phase of the mission, which began in April 2026, the ship sailed from Mumbai with Indian personnel and naval members from nine partner countries, and it reached Malé on April 6, 2026, as its first port call.
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An earlier IOS SAGAR deployment visited Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria, and Malé, and involved a multinational crew from India and nine partner countries. Commodore Singh described why this effort matters.
He said, “This is a unique initiative, normally in bilateral and multilateral exercises we train with ships and vessels, in the case of IOS Sagar, the crew of the ship was from nine different countries. This meant that the different members of the ship worked as a team. This was an experiment that let them work and live together as a team. This shows navy’s soft power diplomacy”.
India has also taken on more regional leadership roles. On February 20, 2026, India assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium at the 9th Conclave of Chiefs in Visakhapatnam. In the same month, the Indian Navy also took command of Combined Maritime Forces’ CTF 154, a multinational task force focused on training and capacity building. The Combined Maritime Forces is a 47-nation naval partnership, so this was another big sign of growing trust in India’s role.
