India explains why it skipped ‘Will for Peace 2026’ BRICS naval exercise

India has clarified why it did not take part in the just-concluded ‘BRICS Naval Exercise’. The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said the naval exercises were an initiative of South Africa, the current chair and one of the founding members of the grouping.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said some BRICS members took part in the naval exercise which was not a regular or institutionalised bloc activity. He highlighted that not all BRICS members joined the exercise.

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Jaiswal further pointed out that India had not participated in similar initiatives earlier as well.

The MEA official statement on the matter read, “We clarify that the exercise in question was entirely a South African initiative in which some BRICS members took part. It was not a regular or institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did all BRICS members take part in it. India has not participated in previous such activities.”

“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. The last edition of IBSAMAR was held in October 2024,” it added.

The weeklong joint naval drills involving several members of the BRICS bloc, including China, Russia and Iran, started near South Africa’s coast last Saturday and concluded yesterday. South Africa had described the exercises as key amid the rising maritime tensions globally.

⚓️ Multinational naval exercises “Will for Peace 2026” have begun in SA’s territorial waters.

Based in Simon’s Town, the drills involve navies of China and South Africa, with ships from Russia and Iran participating.

The exercises focus on maritime security & safe navigation. pic.twitter.com/LvRUNy5MQV

— Russian Embassy in South Africa (@EmbassyofRussia) January 9, 2026

The ‘Will for Peace 2026’ exercises, led by China in Simon’s Town, involved drills on rescue and maritime strike operations and technical exchanges.

Iran was asked to withdraw

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the South African Defence Ministry is investigating how Iran participated in the BRICS+ naval exercises. There were earlier reports that Iran had been asked by President Cyril Ramaphosa to withdraw from the exercises in a bid to not invite further US wrath. The US-South Africa relations are already shaky and Iran’s participation, Pretoria feared, could damage it further.

Also, Washington under President Donald Trump has opposed BRICS, seeing it as an economic threat.

The BRICS acronym is derived from the initial letters of the founding member countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The chairmanship is currently with South Africa.

Along with India, Brazil also opted out of the drills, as reported by Al Jazeera.