New Delhi : The Government has taken a number of measures to strengthen coastal, offshore and maritime security. Broadly, these measures include capacity augmentation of maritime security agencies for surveillance and patrol of the nation’s maritime zones; enhanced technical surveillance of coastal and offshore areas; establishment of mechanisms for inter-agency coordination; increased regulation of activities in the maritime zones; as also integration of the fishing and coastal communities.
Indian Naval ships and aircraft are regularly deployed on ‘Mission Based Deployments’ in Indian Ocean Region to enhance maritime security. It also undertakes surveillance to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness and address contingencies that may arise. These are in consonance with Government of India’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the Maritime Security Strategy to build its role as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in our extended maritime neighbourhood. Besides this, India proactively engages with regional Navies to enhance friendship/cooperation and promote maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Operational interactions with friendly foreign countries include activities like Joint Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Surveillance, Coordinated Patrols on annual / bi-annual basis along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), Maritime Exercises, etc.
India also exchanges Maritime Information bilaterally with Friendly Foreign Countries to create Maritime Domain Awareness in IOR. This includes information on military and naval assets of hostile / adversarial countries; assessment of maritime activities of mutual concern and activities related to transnational maritime based threats.
Besides these, India also participates in regional frameworks such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) to expand its cooperation and exchanges with the Indo-Pacific region.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha today.
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