2-Nov-2022: Goa Maritime Symposium 2022
Fourth edition of biennial Goa Maritime Symposium was conducted successfully by the Indian Navy at Goa from 31 October to 01 November 2022.
Coming out of the shadows of global COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian Navy was delighted to witness physical participation of overseas delegates from all 12 invitees. Representatives from Navies and Maritime Agencies from 12 Friendly Foreign Indian Ocean littoral countries, which included Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, besides India, attended the Symposium, conducted by the Naval War College, Goa.
Commodore Nitin Kapoor, Deputy Commandant, Naval War College delivered the welcome address and the Symposium was formally inaugurated by Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, NM, Commandant, Naval War College.
Over the two days of the Symposium, the participants deliberated upon several maritime security aspects of contemporary relevance. The theme for GMS-22 was ‘Maritime Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigation Frameworks’. Through four panel discussions with dedicated sub-themes, the participants were successful to garner a clear vision for an outcome oriented agenda for the Goa Maritime Conclave which would be hosted by the Indian Navy in 2023.
Commodore Anil Jaggi, Commodore (Foreign Cooperation), in his closing address, thanked all participants for their enthusiastic participation and valuable contribution during the Goa Maritime Symposium-22.
The participants also availed the opportunity to visit Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) on 01 November 2022 to witness, first hand, the indigenous ship building capabilities of Indian Shipyards. The delegates visited Indian Naval Ship Pralay, a Guided Missile Vessel, constructed by the GSL in 2002 and were also shown the construction and repair areas including Ship Lift facility.
India has consistently advocated of the concept of ‘Collective Responsibility’ for maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region. The Goa Maritime Symposium and the Goa Maritime Conclave, conducted by the Indian Navy in alternating years is a manifestation of such efforts.
Guided by the vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region), the Indian Navy looks forward to hosting the Goa Maritime Conclave in year 2023.
10-Nov-2021: Goa Maritime Conclave - 2021
The 3rd edition of Goa Maritime Conclave, successfully conducted from 07 to 09 November 2021 at Goa, brought together the Chiefs of Navy/ Heads of Maritime Agencies of IOR littorals, namely, Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The theme for GMC-21, “Maritime Security and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats: A Case for Proactive Role for IOR Navies”, was derived keeping in mind the necessity of ‘winning everyday peace’ in the maritime domain.
Delivering the Conclave Address, Shri Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary highlighted GMC’s symbolism of India’s constructive engagement in the IOR and that the Maritime Security and Economic prosperity are inter-related and inter-dependent since time immemorial. He also stressed on the role played by constructive engagements such as IONS, IORA, BIMSTEC, Colombo Security Conclave, etc. towards promoting pluralistic cooperation for Maritime Security. Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary, during his Keynote Address reiterated maritime transport and logistics as major components of Blue Economy and its significance to IOR littorals. He laid emphasis on institutional dialogues between maritime security agencies, towards building relationships and processes that contribute to improvement of security related outcomes.
The various panel discussions saw enriching contribution from eminent scholars, subject matter experts and veteran Naval officers wherein relevant insights, thought provoking ideas and possible solutions were put forth on the GMC-21 theme. A ‘Make in India’ Defence and Shipyard Pavilion was also inaugurated by the Chief of the Naval Staff, wherein DPSUs/ private shipyards viz M/s MDL, GSL, L&T and Chowgule Global, Goa, showcased their shipbuilding capabilities. The visiting delegations were also provided with a first-hand demonstration of Indian Navy’s Deep Submergence and Rescue Vessel (DSRV) capabilities towards promoting a submarine rescue mechanism for IOR, along with a tour onboard Guided Missile Destroyer INS Kochi, to showcase India’s indigenous shipbuilding prowess.
In his Closing Remarks, Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff brought out that GMC should move beyond dialogue and focus on cogent outcomes. He proposed four guiding principles for future editions, viz., iterative and incremental gains, harnessing complementarities, synchronisation and focussed operations, and lastly up-skilling and up-scaling existing capabilities.
The Conclave also saw declaration of ‘Common Maritime Priorities’, which had been identified during the Goa Maritime Symposium 21, earlier this year.
With the culmination GMC 21, all Nations agreed to endeavour, to work together on the deliverables and take forward further constructive activities in the future editions.
2-Nov-2017: India offers to share real-time maritime data with 10 Indian Ocean littoral states.
India has made an offer to share intelligence of maritime movements in the Indian Ocean in real-time with 10 Indian Ocean littoral States.
10 Indian Ocean littoral States will benefit from this initiative. The information to be shared includes movement of commercial traffic as well as intelligence. The information sharing is not so much for conventional military purposes but to deal with non-traditional threats arising at sea. This comes even as India gears up to counter China’s increased presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) was inaugurated at the Tarang Auditorium of INS Mandovi, Goa. The conclave was aimed at “Addressing Regional Maritime Challenges” wherein the deliberations were focused on emerging maritime threats and force structuring, maritime domain awareness, maritime security architecture, and maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR).
Significance of GMC: GMC aims to bring together like minded nations to evolve and formulate collective responses to emerging challenges in the maritime domain. It would also provide an opportunity to communicate our viewpoints in a forthright manner and collectively shape a favourable maritime environment for all countries in the region. Political and economic interactions between the stake holders in the IOR has great impact on regional dynamics in international geo-politics.