Maritime Security

About

• It classifies issues within the maritime area comprising national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security.
• Besides the world’s oceans, it also offers regional seas, territorial waters, rivers and ports.

Significance of Maritime Security

• Piracy:

• • • Maritime security is of utmost significance to the world network as there are maritime concerns starting from piracy at sea to unlawful immigration and weapon smuggling.

• Terrorist Attacks:

• • • It also deals with threats of terrorist assaults and environmental catastrophes.

• Environmental Damage:

• • Because large-scale commercial operations take place in the ocean environment, there’ll inevitably be incidents that damage the environment.

Significance For India

• National Security:

• • • For India, maritime security is an essential factor of national security as it has a shoreline of over 7,000 km.
    • With development in technology, physical threats in the maritime area have now been overshadowed by technological threats.

• For Trade Purpose:

• • India’s exports and imports have remained mainly across the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean.
  • Therefore, Securing Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs) have been an vital issue for India in the 21st century.

Present Maritime Security Mechanism of India

• Currently, coastal security of India is ruled by a 3-tiered form.
• The Indian Navy patrols the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), whilst the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is remitted to do patrolling and surveillance up to 200 nautical miles (i.e., Exclusive Economic Zone).
• Simultaneously, the State Coastal/Marine Police (SCP/SMP) performs boat patrolling in shallow coastal regions.
• The SCP have jurisdiction as much as 12 nautical miles from the coast; and the ICG and the Indian Navy have jurisdiction over the complete maritime zone (up to 200 nautical miles), including the territorial waters (with the SMP).

India’s Initiatives for Maritime Security

• Security and Growth for All (SAGAR) Policy:

• • • India’s function as a net security group in the Indian Ocean area (IOR).
    • India might keep enhancing the maritime security capacities and financial resilience of pleasant countries in IOR.

• Abiding via the International Law:

• • • India has over and over reiterated its commitment to respecting the rights of all nations as per the UN Convention on Law of Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.
    • UNCLOS 1982, also known as Law of the Sea divides marine areas into five predominant zones particularly- Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and the High Seas.

• Data Sharing:

• • • Sharing statistics on threats to commercial ships is an essential element of improving maritime security.
    • In this context, India established an International Fusion Centre (IFC) for the Indian Ocean vicinity in Gurugram in 2018.
    • IFC is at the same time administered through the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

• Anti-Piracy Operations:

• • Faced with the expanded hazard from piracy originating off the coast of Somalia in 2007 to shipping in the western Indian Ocean, the Indian Navy participated robustly as part of a UNSC mandated 60-country Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Challenges for India’s Maritime Security

• Infrastructure Constraints:

• • • This includes not only shipbuilding and ship repair however also modernisation and hinterland connectivity through rail and road community for included development of each the coastal and the interior areas of India.
    • It also includes coastal shipping. Due to infrastructure constraints, India can not induct the postings of International Liaison Officers (ILO) at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).
    • It is not simply critical to have ILOs in India, however also similarly critical that Indian Navy officers be posted at comparable centers in other countries.

• Continued Delay in Posting Indian Liaison Officers:

• • • Proposals to submit Indian Naval Liaison Officers (LO) at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), Madagascar, and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre, Seychelles, were pending for more than  years.
    • Another inspiration to publish an LO at the European-led project in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH) in Abu Dhabi has also not been authorized so far.

• Rising Chinese Dominance:

• • China’s regressive behaviour in the important sea lanes in the South China Sea is the centre of the complete maritime security project.
  • The sea lanes of communication are vital for peace, balance, prosperity and development of the Indo-Pacific region.

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