India Distances Itself from South Africa-Led Naval Exercise Involving BRICS Members

India has issued a formal clarification distancing itself from a recent naval exercise hosted by South Africa that involved the participation of some BRICS countries, underscoring New Delhi’s cautious approach to military engagements conducted under loosely defined multilateral banners.

In a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India made it clear that the exercise in question was entirely a South African initiative and not a formal or institutionalised BRICS activity. The MEA stressed that not all BRICS members participated, and India itself did not take part, nor has it joined similar exercises in the past.

“The exercise in question was entirely a South African initiative in which some BRICS members took part. It was not a regular or institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did all BRICS members take part in it,” the MEA said.

Context: BRICS Expansion and Military Sensitivities

The clarification comes at a time when BRICS is undergoing significant transformation. With its recent expansion to include new members from the Middle East and Africa, questions have intensified about whether the grouping is evolving beyond an economic and political coordination forum into a platform for strategic or military alignment.

India has consistently maintained that BRICS is not a military alliance and has shown reluctance to associate the bloc with defence-oriented initiatives that could be perceived as counter-balancing Western security frameworks. New Delhi’s position reflects its long-standing foreign policy doctrine of strategic autonomy, avoiding entanglement in blocs that could limit diplomatic flexibility.

The South Africa-led naval exercise, which included participation by certain BRICS states, risked creating the impression of an emerging BRICS-aligned military posture—an interpretation India has now explicitly rejected.

India’s Preferred Framework: IBSAMAR

To remove ambiguity, the MEA highlighted IBSAMAR, a trilateral maritime exercise involving India, Brazil, and South Africa, as the only regular naval drill India participates in within this context.

“The regular exercise that India is a part of in this context is the IBSAMAR maritime exercise,” the statement noted, adding that the last edition was held in October 2024.

Unlike ad-hoc or host-driven initiatives, IBSAMAR is a long-standing, structured naval engagement focused on maritime security cooperation, interoperability, and goodwill among the three democracies of the Global South.

Strategic Signalling

India’s clarification serves multiple strategic purposes:

• Avoiding BRICS militarisation: India is signalling that BRICS should remain an economic and political platform, not a defence bloc.
• Managing perceptions: The statement aims to prevent misinterpretation by partners such as the United States, Japan, and ASEAN countries regarding India’s strategic intentions.
• Internal BRICS balance: By drawing a distinction between institutional and non-institutional activities, India is pushing back against attempts by individual members to reframe BRICS’ scope unilaterally.

Bottom Line

India’s response highlights the growing complexity within BRICS as member states pursue divergent strategic ambitions. While some countries appear willing to experiment with defence cooperation under the BRICS umbrella, New Delhi is drawing a firm red line—reaffirming that its participation in multilateral military exercises will remain limited, transparent, and outside the BRICS framework.