Goa Maritime Conclave 2023: Indian Navy Chief put forth four suggestions for improving relations with IOR States

On October 31, 2023, the Indian Navy Chief Admiral Hari Kumar put forward a set of four principles aimed at the fostering of deeper relations among the littoral states in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). These proposals were presented during the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) which is a crucial platform initiated by the Indian Navy to promote maritime collaborative maritime security efforts among other IOR states.

Suggestions by the Navy Chief

Admiral Hari Kumar expressed the willingness of India to take lead in the developing the training and capacity building pillar in alignment of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). His first suggestion involves the establishment of a dynamic mechanism that is structured light but functionally heavy. Based on common maritime priorities (CMPs) this as per Business Standards, will encompass maritime law, information, strategy, and protocols as well as training and capacity building.

The second proposal emphasised the leveraging of unique capabilities and expertise brought to the table by each state. Kumar said that each one of us could bring to the table certain unique capabilities and expertise such as proficiency in maritime law, counteracting sea-borne narcotics trade, maritime surveillance, and environmental stewardship.

This he said would also lay the foundation for the establishing regional Centers of Excellence (CoE) in addition to developing and operationalizing the mitigation framework for addressing CMPs” Furthermore, the navy chief highlighted the importance of developing CoE as central hubs for maritime security information within the IOR. As an example, he cited that the establishment of IFC-IOR (Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region) in Gurugram.

This Initiative underlined India’s Role as the primary guardian of the Indian Ocean serving as a net security provider that fosters collaboration among the regional countries to ensure global commons security, freedom of navigation and protection against various challenges such as piracy, terrorism, gun running narcotics, human migration, and illegal fishing.

Lastly, Admiral Hari Kumar suggested streamlining and prioritizing efforts under the bilateral, multilateral and minilateral constructs in the IOR (Indian Ocean Region).

The Conclave

The Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) is the Indian Navy’s outreach initiatives providing a multinational platform to harness the collective wisdom of practioners of maritime security and academia towards garnering maritime thought. The current and the fourth edition of the conclave will be held from 29-31 October 2023 by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Naval War College in Goa.

The theme of this year conclave was Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR): Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks. The delegations would get an opportunity to see the indigenous ship building exhibition.

The Goa Maritime Conclave witnessed the participation of ministers and navy chiefs from twelve IOR nations: Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

It comes amidst growing concerns about China expanding its footprint in the Indian Ocean Region in recent times. The aim of the forum is to find regional solutions to regional problems. While there are larger constructs such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), BIMSTEC, sometimes at larger constructs, it is difficult to reach a consensus. On climate change, the collaborative mitigation framework can involve the countries working together to reduce carbon emissions and transition to sustainable practises