4 months ago
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India connected Saturday (January 17, 2026) said it skipped a South Africa-initiated multilateral naval wargame featuring a fig of BRICS countries arsenic the workout was not an organization enactment nether the grouping.
The workout held successful South African waters comprised the navies of China, Russia Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) among others.
The week-long subject wargame took spot amid expanding tensions successful Iran implicit imaginable subject strikes connected the state implicit its crackdown connected anti-government protesters.
"We clarify that the workout successful question was wholly a South African inaugural successful which immoderate BRICS members took part," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"It was not a regular oregon institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did each BRICS members instrumentality portion successful it," helium said.
Mr. Jaiswal was responding to media queries connected India's lack from the alleged "BRICS naval exercise".
The MEA spokesperson said India has not participated successful erstwhile specified activities.
"The regular workout that India is simply a portion of successful this discourse is the IBSAMAR maritime workout that brings unneurotic the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa," helium said.
The past variation of IBSAMAR (India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime) was held successful October 2024.
India is the existent seat of BRICS.
BRICS, primitively comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded successful 2024 to see Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE, with Indonesia joining successful 2025.
It has emerged arsenic an influential radical representing astir 49.5% of the planetary population, astir 40% of the planetary GDP and astir 26% of the planetary trade.
