Members and Observer Nations:
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) includes 24 nations that permanently hold territory that abuts or lies within the Indian Ocean, and 8 observer nations:
Permanent members are geographically grouped into four sub-regions:
- South Asian Littorals: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (British Indian Ocean Territory)
- West Asian Littorals: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
- East African Littorals: France (Reunion), Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania
- South East Asian and Australian Littorals: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste
Observer Nations:
China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain