Between 7 and 9 November, the third edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave, the Indian Navy’s outreach initiative shall be held, as said by a navy spokesperson. Non-traditional threats in the Indian Ocean Region and other issues will be discussed in the Conclave.
The spokesperson further added that participants of the event shall include Chiefs of navies or heads of maritime forces from 12 Indian Ocean littorals which include Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Comoros and Bangladesh.
All about the event
The working-level deliberations of the Goa Maritime Symposium-21 held in May this year would be built upon by the conclave.
Maritime Security and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats is the theme for the current year’s edition of GMC. Above cited theme is A Case for Proactive Role for IOR (Indian Ocean Region) Navies that has been derived keeping the necessity of winning everyday peace in the maritime domain in mind, the spokesperson further said.
As per a navy official, the chiefs of navies of maritime forces from 12 Indian Ocean littorals shall be hosted by the Indian Chief of the Naval Staff.
Various focuses
Bringing together the regional stakeholders and deliberating on the collaborative implementation strategies in dealing with contemporary maritime security challenges is the aim of the GMC while the Indian Ocean Region is somewhere becoming the focus of the 21st-century strategic landscape.
Three sessions focusing on Imperatives for Mitigating Emerging Non-Traditional Threats in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction in the IOR, Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Maritime Law Enforcement and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats shall be conducted in the event, the official said.
Along with maritime information being shared, extensive deliberations in the domains of hydrography shall also be held, according to the navy spokesman.
The significance of interoperability to effectively deal with emerging and future maritime security challenges in the IOR shall also be dwelled upon by the participating chiefs of navies/heads of maritime agencies.
An opportunity to witness India’s indigenous shipbuilding industry at the ‘Make in India Exhibition’ and the capabilities of Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) for Submarines at the Mormugao Port Trust, Goa would be afforded to the visitors as a part of the conclave.
Side stories at the IOR
The 11th P-8I was received by the Indian Navy from Boeing a few days back while a total of 22 of these aircraft have been planned to be purchased by the Indian Navy in the next few years to keep a close check on the Chinese movements in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) especially on their submarines.
With regards to the P-81s, India is already in possession of 10 of these aircraft which are in service with the Indian Navy who are the largest foreign customer of the P8 platform. Although 10 aircraft are currently in service, one more is to be delivered this year while six more are being procured.
Back in 2009, a contract for eight P-81 aircraft was signed by the Defence Ministry followed by another contract signed in 2016 for four additional P-8Is.
The India-Nepal ties
On the other hand, it was earlier reported that to boost bilateral defence ties, India will be visited for four days by the Nepal Army chief General Prabhuram Sharma in November during which he will meet with his Indian counterpart General M M Naravane along with other service chiefs.
According to a government official, Sharma shall be leaving for New Delhi on 9 November while the President of India shall confer him with the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army.
BCGSI Meet
During the 14th meeting of the India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security Issues (BCGSI) that was held in Bengaluru, it was announced that the Nepal Army chief would pay his visit to India while Sharma would be returning to Nepal on 12 November.
As a part of the meeting, bilateral cooperation in disaster management, training, capacity building requirements and mutual security concerns of defence forces of Nepal were some issues that figured prominently.
As said by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Nepalese Army needs various defence stores which were deliberated upon at the meeting.
While the Nepalese side at the talks was headed by the Joint Secretary (South Asia) in the Nepalese foreign ministry, the Indian delegation was led by the Joint Secretary (North) in the MEA.
Officials from foreign affairs, home affairs and ministries of defence of both nations were comprised in the delegations while the representatives of the Nepal Army and the Indian Army were also a part of the meeting.