Introduction The Indian Ocean region covers an area of 73,556,000 square miles and links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Being the third largest ocean in the world, it also encompasses many regional seas: the Arabian Sea, the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Mannar, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and […]
Fleet Review – An Enabler for Confidence Building In February 2001, the Indian Navy had organized the International Fleet Review (IFR) at Mumbai. Given the theme ‘Bridges of Friendship’, the event was meant to commemorate the completion of India’s fifty years of being a Republic. Significantly, China declined to participate in the event. On the […]
Global discourse on climate change has come a long way: from its credibility being hotly contested to becoming a priority in international cooperation for states, primarily under the umbrella of United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC). The recently concluded Conference of the Parties (CoP) 21 meeting in Paris in November-December 2015 is reflective […]
The city of Visakhapatnam on India’s east coast in the state of Andhra Pradesh stands on the threshold of history. Its name will be etched forever in golden letters in world maritime history when it hosts the International Fleet Review (IFR) in February 2016. Interestingly, the city and the Indian Navy have always had an […]
“From the Arctic to the Antarctic and from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, the sea is one. Because the sea poses a common challenge, those who traversed it depended on each other and developed a special bond. Seafarers of the world, represented by their Navies, have taken a leading role in bringing nations together […]
The concept of ‘Common Public Good(s) at Sea’ has lately gained much traction in the context of maritime safety and security in the Afro-Asian swath of the Indo-Pacific region.i As the centre-of-gravity of world’s economic power shifts eastwards, the salience of this predominantly maritime-configured region is increasing, and the attendant emphasis on security and stability […]
The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit held on 25 September 2015 formally adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets. The agreement by all 193 member countries of the UN General Assembly to approve the final document titled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ is unique as it applies to all […]
The Indian Navy will be organizing an International Fleet Review (IFR) in February 2016 off Vishakhapatnam. Traditionally, fleet reviews are held by countries to showcase their naval power and foster maritime cooperation with other countries.1 IFR-2016 may be seen in context of India‟s new maritime security strategy titled „Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy‟ […]
During his address at the Defense Conference in London on 14 September 2015, Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai, the Commander of the PLA Navy‟s North Sea Fleet, stated that “the South China Sea, as the name indicates, is a sea area that belongs to China.” He further stressed that the waterway has belonged to China from […]
Globally, the refugee crisis in Europe has drawn international concern. The movement of hundreds of thousands of people from their conflict-torn homelands in Asia and Africa towards a perceivably safer Europe saw the unfolding of the largest refugee crisis experienced by Europe since the Second World War. With prolonged and protracted conflict in Europe‟s neighbouring […]
During the Naval Commanders Conference held in New Delhi on 26 October 2015, the Indian Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar released India’s revised maritime-military strategy titled, ‘Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy’ (IMSS-2015). It supersedes the 2007 strategy document titled, ‘Freedom to Use the Seas: India’s Maritime-Military Strategy (IMMS-2007). This essay seeks to examine […]
In September 2015, two significant announcements relating to ocean economy were made. The Indian Ocean Rim Associations (IORA) hosted the first IORA Ministerial Blue Economy Conference titled “Enhancing Blue Economy Cooperation for Sustainable Development in the IORA Region” in Mauritius and identified four priority areas (a) Fisheries & Aquaculture; (b) Renewable Ocean Energy; (c) Seaports […]