Maritime Security Top Priority From Now On: In a most tantalizing first time ever “today’s phenomenon” in the world, India is sincerely ensuring Maritime Security Top Priority From Now On for the all round Super Power nomenclature for itself totally surprising many so called advanced countries on top of the world. Even the USA is included in it, and, it is openly admitted , of all, by Donald Trump himself. This surprises most persona in the whole world today who tryly are totally zapped beyond any description of all kinds.
While India has a long history of maritime activity, the formal focus on maritime security, especially after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, began in the early 2000s, with key developments like the ISPS Code and the establishment of the Coastal Security Scheme.
Maritime security can first be understood in a matrix of its relation to other concepts, such as marine safety, seapower, blue economy and resilience.
Maritime security encompasses measures to protect ships, ports, and maritime operations from threats like terrorism, piracy, illegal trafficking, and pollution, ensuring safety and security of the maritime environment and trade.
India employs a multi-faceted approach to maritime security, encompassing technological advancements, international collaborations, and strategic partnerships to protect its vast coastline and sea lanes, including the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
For a maritime nation like India, its conception of maritime security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and specifically, its approach to maritime security has a long historical legacy.1 In 1946, KM Panikkar had stated that “Unless India is prepared to stand forth and shoulder the responsibility of peace and security in the Indian Ocean, her freedom will mean but little”, and that “India's future therefore is closely bound up with the strength she is able to develop gradually as a naval power.”2
The Cold War saw delineations in the IOR between the USA and the erstwhile Soviet Union, and the superpower rivalry placed India closer to the Soviet camp. The mistrust that flowed from the Cold War years limited India’s vision of regional maritime security while it sought avenues of détente with the IOR nations by building a position of stability and trust while negotiating to shed the tag of ‘regional hegemon’.
This approach led to the development of better relations with most of its neighbours and the regional IOR nations,with India being seen as a regional power and astable nation with no hegemonic interests. The emergence of an increased element of trust, better relations with the IOR nations, and cooperation at regional organisations saw an enhanced outreach by India using both soft and hard power to ensure stability, security and peace in the IOR’s maritime domain.
According to Norman Hartman, Foreign Policy is “a systematic statement of deliberately selected national interests.”5 India’s maritime security strategy – which is an important integral part of its foreign policy – took time to evolve for a variety of reasons. This evolution reflects a systematic approach wherein several elements of national power were used.
These consisted of a mix of the soft and hard power aspects, inter alia of diplomacy, economics, and military power. India’s growth as a rising economic power and recognition as a ‘Preferred Security Partner and First Responder’, and the spurt of strategic partnerships with many nations, has seen the evolution of a set of contemporary concepts and initiatives that are dealt withthe working groups of IOR regional organisations headed by a lead nation. India works mainly through these structures and frameworks with regional nations to address the non-traditional threats that impact the IOR.
Over time maritime security evolved as an accepted global term covering Freedom of Navigation that resonated at the national, regional and global levels, and naval power metamorphosed into maritime power that enveloped both hard and soft power attributes. Post the Cold War and the emergence of new strategic alignments and strategic partnerships, maritime cooperation that started as a buzzword became a mantra.
In this new security environment, India’s contemporary approach to maritime security was placed under the broad umbrella of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), a concept that can be replicated in any maritime region of the world. Under SAGAR, India’s maritime engagements within the IOR can be clubbed under several structures and frameworks like Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Neighbourhood First, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), and the Coalition for Disaster ResilientInfrastructure (CDRI), minilaterals, institutionalised maritime exercises and mission-based deployments.
This inclusive approach was extended to India’s concept of the Indo-Pacific Region and amplified in India’s vision of a ‘free, open and inclusive’ Indo-Pacific. At the international level the importance of maritime security was highlighted by Prime Minister Modi during the first ever open maritime security debate, Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 9 August 2021. The debate was held under India’s Presidency of the UNSC, and the following five basic principles were discussed which indicate the holistic manner of India’s approach to maritime security:6
Believe it or not, at the time of writing, there nis a deep confabulation going on amid the country’s water security experts to whether or not have nuclear safety in the waters around India so that in no way, the country’s internal security is disturbed / distorted in any way whatsoever,