Already
busy with coastal security, anti-piracy and blue-water operations, now terrorism
worries navy
By Ajai
Shukla
Business Standard, 4th Dec 14
The navy faces
the spectre of terrorism after Al Qaeda operatives tried to take control of a
Pakistani warship in the Karachi harbour on September 6th, reportedly
to attack US or Indian warships. Traditionally the navy has remained insulated
from terrorism originating from Pakistan.
Navy chief,
Admiral Robin K Dhowan, said on Wednesday that “maritime terrorism” bothered
him. While army and air force units are clear about territorial jurisdictions,
naval warships operate in international waters where any ship can approach
another.
He said: “When
the officer-of-the-watch reports to the captain, ‘We have a warship from another
navy on our starboard bow’, the captain would tell the officer, ‘Wish him Good
Morning’, as he is in international waters and so are you. But in this changed
environment we may not wish him Good Morning any longer. Instead we might have
to find out exactly who he is.”
Describing
the additional responsibilities of coastal security, Dhowan said: “We have
250,000 fishing boats in the country. Any one of them could take on a couple of
tonnes of explosives. We have 1,197 islands, 7615 kilometres of coastline. It
is so easy for the other side and so difficult for us to guard. So it is a huge
problem; any one of these vessels can be operated by these terrorist
organisations.”
Addressing
a press conference in New Delhi on the eve of Navy Day, which falls on December
4, Dhowan significantly shifted gears on the navy’s role. This comes after
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama cited India’s “Act
East” policy in Washington in September, and agreed on “the importance of
safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over
flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea.”
For years,
successive navy chiefs have said India’s maritime interests in the Indian Ocean
Region (IOR) do not clash with China’s in the Western Pacific.
Dhowan
stated, “While you could define our primary area of interest (as the Indian
Ocean), the flexibility and manoeuvrability of naval forces that do not tether
them to a particular distance. Wherever the maritime interests of India are
there, the Indian Navy will be there to protect them.”
He
emphasised the benign nature of India’s naval power, describing India’s role as
“cooperative engagement” with the IOR’s 35 navies, including China’s.
Talking of
the Indian Ocean, he said “66 per cent
of the world’s oil, 50 per cent of the world’s container traffic, and 33 per
cent of the world’s cargo traffic transit through these waters.”
For that
reason, said Dhowan, “A large number of navies --- 125 ships from about 20 countries
--- are always present in the Indian Ocean to safeguard their maritime
interests.”
“The role
that the Indian Navy has envisaged for itself is in enhancing the cooperation
amongst the littoral countries of the region,” said Dhowan.
In so doing,
the navy was operating at its highest-ever tempo, said the chief. He described
the navy’s “operational footprint” this year as extending “from Vladivostok in
the east to Australia down under; to Hawaii further east, the Persian Gulf and
the east coast of Africa.” Naval warships visited these places this year.
Dhowan also
cited the expanded format of the navy’s annual training exercise, called
Tropex. Instead of a “two-seas” exercise in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea,
Tropex this year was a “blue water” exercise, run far into the Indian Ocean.
“We used a
large number of aircraft, including the (newly acquired Boeing multi-mission
surveillance aircraft) P8I, and a nuclear submarine, all linked through the
navy’s Rukmini satellite. This was unprecedented”, said Dhowan.
Off-Topic - Rant alert :
ReplyDeleteWhy do a large number of our Mid to Senior Military Officers have such bad Turnout and an obsession for wearing Non regulation items as uniform ?
In his most recent interview in the Media.The Navy chiefs Tunic Buttons are far to close to each other, His Tunic is two sizes bigger than his actual size.
Unless he has just returned from Sea Duty (sarcasm intended), there is no reason for him not to have a desperately needed haircut. Especially when addressing to public.
Senior officers of the army will pretty soon shift to silk or schiffon as their non combat olive Green uniform material, so its cool. Its amazing how in the british times nobody felt so warm. It makes their decorations sag. Lets not get into the different forms of Olive green one can see in one army.
Combat Uniforms worn by Army Commanders resemble a Christmas tree. The latest Jewellery they have is the Signs of commands held in army commander's hat.
A recent pic of Senior generals during PMs visit to Siachin Valley would have you wonder whether Modi is attending a multinational military excersize.
Articles of religious faith on the wrists.
Hair kept as long as a RBI Bank Manager in a village.
every time our army goes for an international excersize in a cold area they have different Jackets, freshly bought from the local canteen.
Non Regulation, Two piece berets.
lets not go into combat uniforms of the Air force.
Almost no service has yet managed to get all its service members to wear anklets or tuck their trousers in boots or anklets.
and worst of all sadly now even troops and junior officers have understood that the seniors dont care about uniforms standards and every one is wearing his service uniforms like low rise jeans.
does nobody see this or do they just dont care ?
When you look military, you feel military, you think military and you act military. It goes a very long way in building good culture in an organization.
Terrorism from porkistan is an ongoing threat. It's an asymmetrical war thrown by porkies knowing well that India cannot be challenged conventionally. Indias response to any terror attack should drive fear and make it unaffordable for porkistan to continue. Mumbai 26/11 never had any response and their belligerence continues in kashmir.
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