New Delhi, January 28
In what will be the biggest-ever military exercise hosted by India, 16 foreign countries will participate in the Naval exercise “Milan-2014” off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The 17th country will be India.

The five-day (February 4-9) multinational mega event is a congregation of navies of countries that are littorals of India either to its east or west. It is conducted biennially by the Indian Navy at the Andaman and Nicobar Command in Port Blair.

China has often seen the exercise as grouping against it. Some of the participating countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines and Malaysia have over-lapping boundary claims with China in the hydro-carbon rich South China Sea. Vietnam, another country in dispute with China, has excused itself from the exercise. Other participating countries are “strategic friends” of India. This includes Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Maldives, Seychelles, Singapore, Tanzania, Mauritius, Australia and New Zealand. Some events of “Milan-2014” will be open to the public. — TNS