The MILAN 2020 exercise "has been postponed, taking into consideration the safety of all participants and travel restrictions imposed by the spread of COVID-19," the navy said in a statement.

Warships and navy personnel from more than 40 countries had been invited to participate in the exercise, Indian media reported.

The exercise was scheduled for March 18-29 to be held along India's east coast off Visakhapatnam, a port city in Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian navy "looks forward toward scheduling MILAN at a later convenient date," the statement read.

The Indian publication The Economic Times reported that the event was set to be India's largest-ever war games.