New Delhi, March 3 (IANS): With the outbreak of coronavirus outside China and increase in the numbers of cases in India, the Indian Navy has postponed its biggest multilateral naval exercise -- Milan 2020 -- in the Indian Ocean which was scheduled two weeks later.

The multi-nation naval exercise was to be staged off the Vizag coast from March 19 to March 28. "We have postponed the naval exercise that was scheduled from March 19. All the countries which were supposed to participate in the naval exercise would be conveyed this message with immediate effect," said a senior Indian Navy officer.

He also said that the decision was taken after the outbreak of coronavirus outside China. Many countries are affected with the virus. In India, fresh cases of coronavirus are being reported and the government is taking all initiatives to containing it from spreading further.

All the preparations pertaining to the naval exercise at Vizag in Andhra Pradesh wwere complete. Decks were set and the Indian Navy was very enthusiastic about the exercise as it would have offered an opportunity for friendly navies to engage as professionals, learn from each other, and absorb the best practices in the maritime domain.

Milan 2020 included a wider array of exercises in the sea in multi-national groupings with seamanship drills, simulation of complex operational scenarios, tactical manoeuvres and others.

Each event during the exercise was aimed at honing the skills of the operators, maintainers, planners and executors across the full range of skill-sets.

Forty-two countries, including the US and Russia, were invited to Milan 2020 which had the theme 'Synergy Across the Seas'.

Milan, a multilateral naval exercise hosted by India, made a modest beginning in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1995 with the participation of four littoral navies.

It is a biennial congregation of friendly navies. Over the last 25 years, it has progressively grown in magnitude with the previous edition in 2018 being attended by 17 countries.