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OPINION MAY 15, 2026 | The Indian Eye 11

interests shaped by available capabil- thinking. Unlike earlier strategy doc-
ities. uments, which were shaped primarily
Its most important innovation, by the need to assert maritime rele-
therefore, is the distinction between vance or to widen the Navy’s secu-
Area of Maritime Interest (AoI) and rity role, the 2026 strategy is more
Area of Responsibility (AoR). The attentive to persistent competition,
former denotes areas where devel- implementation risk, and the gap be-
opments may affect Indian interests; tween expanding interests and avail-
the latter refers to zones where des- able means. In that respect, it reflects
ignated commanders have authority a Navy increasingly concerned not
to plan and conduct operations. This only with what maritime power can
distinction is analytically significant. achieve but also with how it can be
It separates awareness from control sustained.
and interest from assured capability. The document’s importance
In practical terms, it allows the Navy also lies in the closer relationship
to justify broad surveillance, partner- it establishes between doctrine and
ship-building and contingency plan- INMSS-2026 should be read less as a dramatic doctrinal break and more as evidence of a strategy. Concepts that appeared in
ning across a wide geographical area maturing strategic realism in Indian maritime thinking (File photo) embryonic form in the Indian Mar-
while acknowledging that sustained itime Doctrine 2025—particularly
operational response must remain ‘No War No Peace’ conditions, part-
selective and prioritised. ian assistance and disaster relief, dustrial capacity, cyber defence ca- nership-based security roles and in-
The distinction also has insti- non-combatant evacuation opera- pabilities, multi-agency intelligence tegrated multi-domain operations—
tutional relevance in the context of tions, and sustained maritime part- frameworks and inter-ministerial co- are given clearer strategic expression
prospective theatre commands and nerships in the Indian Ocean Region. ordination. here. This suggests a more iterative
wider joint reforms. By recognis- In addition, maritime issues now oc- Delivering across this spectrum and self-correcting process of doc-
ing that command responsibilities cupy a more prominent place in In- requires not only platforms and in- trinal development than in earlier
may not automatically map onto the dia’s broader strategic discourse than frastructure but also specialist per- cycles.
full spectrum of maritime interests, in earlier decades, aided by growing sonnel, digital networks, intelligence The larger challenge, however,
INMSS-2026 appears to anticipate trade dependence, connectivity ini- integration and sustained mainte- remains unchanged. India’s mari-
a more distributed future command tiatives and repeated disruptions to nance capacity. The strategy itself time profile is rising faster than its
architecture. Simultaneously, by re- global supply chains. acknowledges shortfalls in planned capacity to meet the obligations that
affirming the Navy as the principal These developments provide a force levels and capability require- accompany it. Yet INMSS-2026 en-
maritime instrument, the document stronger political and institutional ments, as well as shortages in special- ters implementation with advantages
suggests that maritime operations context for implementation than was ist domains such as cyber, space and its predecessors did not fully possess:
should remain professionally led available to either the 2007 or 2015 artificial intelligence. This candour is a more integrated doctrinal founda-
by naval expertise even within joint strategies. notable, but it also underscores the tion, greater operational experience,
structures. At the same time, INMSS-2026 scale of the implementation chal- wider strategic recognition of mari-
Yet the underlying tension re- is arguably the most demanding of lenge. time priorities, and a clearer appre-
mains unresolved. Expanding inter- the three documents to implement. A second uncertainty concerns ciation of risk.
ests generate persistent demands Its ambitions span deterrence, grey- the evolving architecture of jointness If earlier strategies were of-
for presence, escort, surveillance, zone competition, coastal security, and theatre reform. INMSS-2026 ex- ten judged by what they promised,
logistics, humanitarian response regional partnership, conflict oper- plicitly notes that impending theater- INMSS-2026 is more likely to be
and deterrence across multiple the- ations, logistics resilience, techno- isation may affect the strategy’s ten- judged by how effectively it prioritis-
atres. These commitments require logical adaptation and global situa- ure and require adaptation. While es under constraint. Its enduring val-
platforms, infrastructure, trained tional awareness. This broad gamut greater integration could improve ue may lie in helping India convert
manpower and budgetary continui- of priority areas reflects recognition resource efficiency and joint warf- a selective maritime advantage into
ty. Strategy can refine priorities, but of the complex maritime threats that ighting, transitional uncertainty over sustainable strategic influence, with
it cannot eliminate resource con- have emerged in recent years. For in- command relationships, prioritisa- greater discipline and confidence.
straints. INMSS-2026 is therefore stance, the growing threat to Critical tion, and service roles may compli-
notable less for claiming unlimited Undersea Infrastructure (CUI) due cate near-term implementation. Commodore Abhay Kumar Singh
reach than for recognising, more to grey-zone warfare has been high- Finally, India’s enduring con- (Retd) is a Research Fellow at the
openly than its predecessors, that lighted in the strategy. tinental commitments remain rel- Southeast Asia and Oceania Centre in
maritime ambition must be managed As noted earlier, the strategy’s evant. Maritime prioritisation has the Institute for Defence Studies and
through calibrated selectivity. emphasis on concepts such as UDA increased, but defence resources Analyses, New Delhi. Dr. R. Vignesh
INMSS-2026 enters implemen- and seabed domain awareness stems continue to be shared across multiple is an Associate Fellow at the Centre
tation with certain advantages that from this concern. Furthermore, theatres and contingencies. The cen- for Military Affairs, Manohar Parrikar
earlier strategy documents lacked. INMSS-2026 notably reorients its ap- tral challenge, therefore, is not con- Institute for Defence Studies and Anal-
It follows closely after the publica- proach towards warfighting through ceptual coherence but sustained exe- yses (MP-IDSA).
tion of the Indian Maritime Doctrine a whole-of-nation approach. The cution. INMSS-2026 provides a more Views expressed are of the authors and
2025, thereby reducing the concep- strategy explicitly indicates that the refined framework than its predeces- do not necessarily reflect the views of
tual lag that often separates doctrine Indian Navy fully recognises that sors; whether it succeeds will depend the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
from strategy in previous cycles. The success in warfighting can no longer on the extent to which resources, in- Government of India
new strategy also benefits from an rely solely on military operations. It stitutions and political attention keep
Indian Navy that has accumulated emphasises that success in warfight- pace with strategic ambition. The full version of this article first ap-
substantial operational experience ing can only be achieved through INMSS-2026 should be read peared in the Comments section of the
across a wide range of missions, in- comprehensive synergy encompass- less as a dramatic doctrinal break website (www.idsa.in) of Manohar Par-
cluding mission-based deployments, ing diplomatic initiatives, economic and more as evidence of a maturing rikar Institute for Defense Studies and
anti-piracy operations, humanitar- instruments, national defence in- strategic realism in Indian maritime Analyses, New Delhi, on May 6, 2026

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