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    OPINION                                                                   MAY 15, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 10

                    INMSS-2026: What India’s

             New Maritime Strategy Means

                  NMSS-2026 reflects a progressive maturation in India’s public naval strategic thought,
              marked by greater conceptual refinement, clearer strategic structuring, and closer alignment

                                       between doctrine and contemporary operational realities

            ABHAY KUMAR SINGH & R. VIGNESH

                  he release of the Indian Navy
                  Maritime  Security  Strategy
            T2026  (INMSS-2026)  marks
            the  third  public  articulation  of  In-
            dia’s naval strategy in less than two
            decades,  following  Freedom  to  Use
            the Seas (2007) and Ensuring Secure
            Seas  (2015).  These  documents  are
            more than declaratory texts. They re-
            veal how the Indian Navy interprets
            changes in the strategic environment,   Source: IDSA
            defines  its  institutional  role,  and
            seeks  to  align  operational  priorities
            with  national  objectives.  Taken  to-  dian Maritime Doctrine 2025 (IMD-  trust and responsiveness rather than   role while signalling its claim to re-
            gether, they trace the evolution of In-  25) refreshed the Navy’s conceptual   hierarchical provision. In diplomatic   main the lead instrument in maritime
            dia’s maritime strategic thought.  vocabulary for a more contested era.   terms, this language is better aligned   operations.
                INMSS-2026 also follows close-  INMSS-2026 builds on that founda-  with contemporary regional sensitiv-  Taken  together,  these  changes
            ly  on  the  publication  of  the  Indian   tion by linking doctrine more explicit-  ities and India’s preference for con-  indicate not a doctrinal rupture, but
            Maritime  Doctrine  2025  (IMD-25),   ly to strategic objectives, instruments   sultative leadership.  a  progressive  refinement  of  Indian
            the Navy’s principal doctrinal state-  and  constraints.  Structured  around   The  strategy  also  appears  to   naval  strategy  towards  a  more  con-
            ment. In our earlier assessment, we   Ends,  Threats,  Means,  Ways  and   strengthen  the  link  between  doc-  tested, resource-conscious and politi-
            argued  that  IMD-25  represented   Risks, it adopts a more coherent stra-  trinal  slogans  and  broader  political   cally complex maritime environment.
            a  significant  conceptual  advance   tegic grammar than its predecessors.   frameworks. Earlier concerns about   A recurring theme across India’s
            through  its  recognition  of  ‘No  War   The inclusion of a dedicated chapter   the limited treatment of SAGAR and   three public maritime strategy docu-
            No  Peace’  (NWNP)  conditions,   on ‘Enablers’ and a concluding sec-  MAHASAGAR are partly addressed   ments is the steady expansion of geo-
            multi-domain  operations,  and  a   tion on risk management is especial-  by  incorporating  maritime  cooper-  graphic interest. What distinguishes
            growing  emphasis  on  jointness.  At   ly  notable,  as  it  acknowledges  that   ation, governance, outreach and re-  INMSS-2026, however, is not merely
            the same time, we noted unresolved   strategic  intent  must  be  measured   sponder roles into the wider strategy   the  widening  of  maritime  horizons
            questions regarding the operational   against  organisational  capacity,  re-  to shape a favourable maritime en-  but  a  more  candid  attempt  to  rec-
            meaning  of  concepts  such  as  ‘Pre-  sources and operational uncertainty.  vironment. While these frameworks   oncile  strategic  ambition  with  finite
            ferred  Security  Partner’  and  ‘First   The  strategy  refines  India’s  re-  remain politically framed rather than   means. Earlier documents tended ei-
            Responder’, the limited treatment of   gional security vocabulary and gives   operational doctrines in themselves,   ther to prioritise selected theatres or
            SAGAR  and  MAHASAGAR,  and       greater  practical  meaning  to  con-  INMSS-2026 gives them clearer stra-  to broaden areas of concern without
            the translation of doctrine into strat-  cepts that appeared underdeveloped   tegic expression than before.  fully  addressing  the  practical  impli-
            egy.  INMSS-2026 can therefore be   in IMD-25. The 2015 strategy prom-  Finally,  INMSS-2026  accords   cations of reach, presence and com-
            read, in part, as an institutional effort   inently  used  the  term  ‘net  security   unusual  prominence  to  the  Indian   mand  responsibility.  INMSS-2026
            to address some of these open ques-  provider’, while IMD-25 introduced   Navy’s  institutional  identity  by  de-  addresses this tension more explicitly.
            tions through a more explicit strate-  formulations  such  as  ‘Preferred  Se-  scribing it as the ‘primary instrument   In  Freedom  to  Use  the  Seas
            gic framework.                    curity Partner’ and ‘First Responder’   and  principal  manifestation  of  In-  (2007),  India’s  maritime  geography
                The  most  significant  contribu-  without fully elaborating their opera-  dia’s maritime power’. Earlier docu-  was  viewed  primarily  through  an
            tion  of  INMSS-2026  lies  not  in  a   tional content. INMSS-2026 advanc-  ments used related formulations, but   Indian Ocean lens. The strategy em-
            wholesale  break  from  earlier  strat-  es  these  ideas  by  embedding  them   the combined phrasing is more delib-  phasised the Arabian Sea, the Bay of
            egy  documents,  but  in  the  clearer   within specific sub-strategies centred   erate and appears intended to reaf-  Bengal,  critical  chokepoints,  island
            articulation and operational transla-  on  cooperative  security  initiatives,   firm naval centrality amid expanding   territories,  and  selected  extra-re-
            tion of concepts that had previously   capacity  building,  rapid  assistance   jointness, theatre command debates   gional spaces linked to trade, energy,
            appeared  in  partial,  declaratory  or   and operational support in times of   and  multi-domain  integration.  The   or contingency operations. Its orien-
            doctrinal  form.  The  2007  and  2015   need.  The  shift  from  ‘provider’  to   formulation,  therefore,  carries  both   tation was outward-looking, yet still
            strategies  reflected  the  demands  of   ‘partner’ is subtle but meaningful: it   strategic  and  bureaucratic  signifi-  anchored  in  a  hierarchy  of  focused
            their respective moments, while In-  places greater emphasis on consent,   cance: it defines the Navy’s external   Continued on next page... >>

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