40 nations taking part, Navy’s Exercise Milan begins today

The Navy’s Milan 2022 will begin in Vishakhapatnam Friday, the largest-ever edition of the exercise that will see the participation of 40 countries, including all major navies of the world.
The biennial exercise, being conducted after four years, will last nine days with the harbour phase starting Friday and the sea phase on March 1. The 2020 edition of the exercise had been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Navy said this year’s theme is ‘Camaraderie – Cohesion – Collaboration’ which “aims to project India as a responsible maritime power to the world at large”.

It said the exercise, which will witness more than 40 countries sending their warships/high-level delegations, aims to “hone operational skills, imbibe best practices and procedures, and enable doctrinal learning in the maritime domain, through professional interaction between friendly navies”.
The exercise would be larger in “scope and complexity” with a focus on “exercises at sea including exercises in surface, sub-surface and air domains and weapon firing”, the statement added.
A multilateral exercise, Milan began in 1995 with the participation of only four countries – Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Until now, it was held at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, but given the large number of participants this time, it was shifted to the Eastern Naval Command, which offers larger sea room.