India clarified on Saturday that the it skipped a South Africa-initiated multilateral naval wargame—Will for Peace 2026—featuring a number of BRICS countries as the exercise was not an institutional activity under the grouping.
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The navies of China, Russia, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among others, participated in the exercise that was held in South Africa.
"We clarify that the exercise in question was entirely a South African initiative in which some BRICS members took part," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, while responding to questions from the media on India's absence from the so-called "BRICS naval exercise".
"It was not a regular or institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did all BRICS members take part in it," he said.
The regular exercise that India is a part of in this context is the IBSAMAR maritime exercise that brings together the navies of India, Brazil, and South Africa, he clarified.
The last edition of IBSAMAR (India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime) was held in October 2024.
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The week-long military wargame, which began on January 9, took place amid increasing tensions in Iran over possible military strikes on the country.
China had reportedly said the exercises are “joint operations to safeguard vital shipping lanes and economic activities."
Meanwhile, a geopolitical analyst with Observer Research Foundation, Harsh Pant, was quoted as saying that skipping the wargame is about balancing ties with the US.
The drill "helps [a narrative] about positioning themselves vis-a-vis the US at this juncture" for China, Russia, Iran, and, to some extent, South Africa. India would prefer not to be tagged in the BRICS wargames. This is not really something that India can take forward, both pragmatically and normatively,” he was quoted as saying to Al Jazeera.
