SLINEX-25 Strengthens Sri Lanka-India Naval Ties
August 15, 2025The Sri Lanka–India Naval Exercise 2025 (SLINEX-25), a premier bilateral maritime engagement between the two nations, officially set sail on Thursday (August 14) from Colombo Port. The launch ceremony, held aboard the Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) Vijayabahu, was graced by the Deputy Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Dr. Satyanjal Pandey and the Sri Lanka Navy’s Director General Operations, Rear Admiral Buddhika Liyanagamage.
Now in its 12th edition, SLINEX is hosted this year by the SLN and aims to deepen cooperation, build mutual trust and enhance tactical interoperability between the two maritime forces. The exercise features a series of coordinated operational drills designed to strengthen joint responses to security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.
Representing the Indian Navy are the fleet tanker INS Jyoti and the destroyer INS Rana, both of which arrived at Colombo Port on the same day. The SLN has deployed SLNS Vijayabahu and SLNS Sayura, supported by assets from the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), underscoring the multi-domain scope of the exercise.
Since the inaugural SLINEX in 2005, held in Colombo, Sri Lanka and India have conducted the exercise alternately in each other’s waters. This enduring partnership is rooted in a shared commitment to safeguarding the Indian Ocean Region from both conventional and non-traditional maritime threats, including piracy, smuggling and illegal fishing.
The ceremonial launch of SLINEX-25 drew a distinguished audience, including diplomats from the Indian High Commission, the Deputy Chief of Staff and Commander of the Western Naval Area Rear Admiral Chandima Silva, senior officers from Navy Headquarters and the Western Naval Command, the Commanding Officers of the participating vessels and senior SLAF officials.
