Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS): 1. Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy. 2. IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The answer is B, 2 only. Statement 2 is correct and Statement 1 is wrong.

• Statement 1 is wrong. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was conceived by the Indian Navy and its inaugural symposium was held in New Delhi in February 2008, not 2015. India was the first chair. The 2015 date is the trap here.
• Statement 2 is correct. IONS is a voluntary, non-treaty forum that brings together navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region to build maritime cooperation, share information and address common security concerns such as piracy, HADR and maritime safety. Its chairmanship rotates among member navies.

Core concept: IONS is a navy-to-navy forum, not an intergovernmental body with binding obligations. For Mains (GS-2 on India's foreign policy and GS-3 on maritime security), it is a useful example of India's soft-power approach to the Indian Ocean, alongside SAGAR and the Colombo Security Conclave.

Trap: Aspirants who recall the year of a later IONS meeting, or who assume a 'chair' must be a government ministry, often mark option A or treat the year as correct.