Key Points
What often gains significant attention is how MILAN has become an avenue for India to demonstrate its diplomatic leadership by spearheading naval cooperation among countries that consider one another as strategic competitors, such as the United States, Israel, and Western European countries on the one hand, and Russia and Iran on the other...
Consequently, the ongoing strikes on multi-national commercial vessels by the Yemen-based Houthi are exacerbating the security conditions of these critical trade routes, which come at the expense of the economic interests of Southeast Asian countries, especially at a time when oil demand in the region is expected to increase further in the next five to ten years...
Therefore, given the turbulent security conditions across the Indo-Pacific's maritime domain, it is critical for Southeast Asian countries to actively take part in securing their interests not just in the Pacific but also in the Indian Ocean...
Therefore, given that the MILAN is among the few multi-national exercises of such scale that include the participation of almost all ASEAN members, this can provide Southeast Asian countries the opportunity to bolster intra-ASEAN maritime security cooperation, signal the blocs desire to take an active position in geopolitical spaces beyond the Western Pacific and strengthen its diplomatic engagements with like-minded partners in the greater Indo-Pacific, thus aligning with the goals enshrined in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)...
Along with improving interoperability, the MILAN provides an essential opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to actively contribute toward information-sharing mechanisms during the exercise, including exchanging knowledge and best practices in maritime security, surveillance, and intelligence gathering..
