Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar has called for the establishment of a working mechanism among the 13 countries part of the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) that is “structure light and functional heavy” as there was a need to have an operational framework that is free, flexible, nimble, responsive and reliable. He also called for development of several regional centres of excellence (CoE) similar to the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) for other aspects of maritime security such as maritime law, maritime search and rescue; and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
“The regional CoEs, once developed, could act as the repository of information, knowledge and best management practices that are exclusively relevant to our waters,” he said addressing the closing ceremony of the 4th edition of the GMC held from October 29 to 31. It was attended by Defence Minister of Comoros Mohamed Ali Youssoufa as well as Chiefs of Navies, Heads of Maritime Forces and senior representatives from 11 countries — Bangladesh, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Crucial step
In this regard, he noted that the identification and promulgation of Common Maritime Priorities (CMPs) during GMC-21 was a logical and crucial first step in that direction. Stating that in addition to developing and operationalising the mitigation framework for addressing Common Maritime Priorities (CMPs), he said this would also lay the foundation for establishing regional CoEs.
Elaborating on the working mechanism, the Navy Chief said that within the ambit of the GMC, the framework could be based on CMPs, and could be categorised into functional themes or pillars, such as maritime law, information, strategy and protocols, or training and capacity building. “For instance, we are willing to take the lead in developing the training and capacity building pillar... Similarly, each one of us could choose to build or contribute to any other pillar. Being an open initiative, such an architecture would afford equal opportunity to every stakeholder, and respect their sovereignty and freedom of choice,” he stated.
In the final suggestion, Admiral Kumar said the IOR could not be viewed in isolation to wider maritime space around the globe, and so stressed on rationalising and prioritising efforts under numerous other bilateral, minilateral and multilateral constructs in the IOR be it the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the Colombo Security Conclave, among many others.
The GMC has emerged as an important platform for India’s interaction with the Indian Ocean littoral states.
