Distinguished Chair Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinhaji,
Distinguished Panelists including those who are joining us online from Stockholm and Paris,
Students & Friends
- The Indo Pacific Region is a large maritime geography combining the Indian and the Pacific Ocean into a single continuum. The region has some of the most crucial sea lanes and choke points for global commerce, Malacca Strait and Strait of Hormuz being the most crucial for global trade routes. The region not only has enormous economic value but also immense strategic resonance given its search for peace and stability amidst the long history of civilizational strife, colonialism and Cold War hostilities.
- In recent years, the security situation in the region has deteriorated in the light of rising tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with the Houthi rebels turning aggressive and hostile. The region is experiencing spillover effects of Russia-Ukraine crisis, Gaza conflict, Israel-Iran tensions and strategic contestations in the Indo-Pacific including in the South China Sea, the Taiwan strait, and the Korean peninsula resulting in volatile situations. Changing equations between US-Russia, US-Europe which we are witnessing these days will impact the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.
- The criticality of the Indo-Pacific maritime theater to global economic and strategic stability and security is widely acknowledged, as the global centre of gravity shifts to the region. But what is less appreciated is that the region also faces a gamut of challenges from sources other than the traditional security which as you are aware relates to territorial disputes and defense of the people. Non-traditional sources of challenges to maritime security are gaining in salience calling for elevated cooperation in this area in bilateral and plurilateral frameworks.
- Since around 2006-07, piracy has emerged as a significant non-traditional security threat in the western Indo-Pacific. Recent years have witnessed frequent instances of attacks by pirates on vessels passing through the region. You would have read in the media about the swift and successful response of the Indian Navy to thwart recent pirate attacks by Houthi rebels and off the coast of Somalia. Such operations need a high level of preparedness and effective maritime domain awareness networks.
- Overfishing and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing are an important threat to the sustainability of marine fisheries. IUU fishing is a major challenge in the region which also has implications for food security. SDG 14 (life below water) and its sub-goal 14.4 inter alia talk about regulating harvesting and ending over-fishing and IUU fishing. Again, combating IUU fishing needs effective patrolling and monitoring capabilities
- Cooperation to fight organized crime including drug trafficking, goods and arms smuggling, dark shipping, human trafficking and ecological concerns in the region is an imperative for maintaining good order and tranquility at sea, upholding rule of law in sovereign territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and high seas beyond jurisdiction. Crime-free waters are a necessary complement to the continental law and order efforts of countries in the region, and need patrolling, surveillance, interdiction capabilities combined with deployment of relevant technologies.
- The region is also prone to natural disasters; most deadly experience has been the 2004 Tsunami. India strives to be a ‘first responder’ in supplying humanitarian aid in the region. These have included disaster relief to countries like Myanmar and Vietnam in the wake of the recent cyclone Yagi, or earlier to Madagascar or to Sri Lanka in the wake of oil spills or water to Maldives.
- Most of the littoral countries and islands in the region are dependent to a large extent on the oceanic activity for their survival and well being. Challenges to marine biodiversity due to increasing pollution with plastics and marine debris are a serious issue which needs attention.
- These are all paramount challenges. Regional and multilateral cooperation is indispensable to deal with such non-traditional challenges. It is important for the regional countries to work together for a stable and secure maritime order in the region. Capacity building and sharing of best practices are important aspects of such cooperation.
- An enhanced MDA capacity is the key to maritime safety and security. Cooperation amongst the regional countries for enhanced and shared MDA to promote stability and prosperity in our seas and oceans remains crucial. Here the role of fusion centres is important as the nodal point for MDA related information. We have one in India in Gurugram, the IFC-IOR.
- Multilateral initiatives like IORA and IONS, IOC, ASEAN, with its ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and related mechanisms, offer platforms for cooperation. India is playing an active role in all the multilateral regional architecture fora.
- India has been active in multilateral initiatives like Contact Group on Piracy off Coast of Somalia’ (CGPCS), which has been a major mechanism to exchange information and coordinate efforts in dealing with Piracy in the IOR and also in Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).
- India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) also offers scope for partnerships among like-minded countries, for mitigating challenges in the maritime domain through practical cooperation.
- India’s ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) maritime vision also encourages states to cooperate and synergize efforts towards a safe, secure and stable maritime domain as also take meaningful steps for its conservation and sustainable use. India strives to be a ‘net security provider’ in both the traditional and non-traditional security realms in the region.
- We are at present living in times of heightened strategic uncertainty with intense geopolitical contestation in the region and the world. At a time when deep polarization is making it difficult to find common ground, the transnational threats which present a challenge to collective security also offer prospects for cooperation among nations.
- Our distinguished panel today will discuss how the non-traditional challenges are not only redefining maritime security but are also elevating cooperation in the Indo Pacific region. I am sure the panelists will come up with many valuable observations regarding the challenges facing the region and suggestions for cooperation. I look forward to a lively and thought-provoking discussion. I wish the panelists all the best.
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