China has invited sharp reactions from African countries over excessive and indiscriminate exploitation of sea-based resources. In December 2014, officials from 24 African countries expressed concerns over the poor state of the African fisheries industry (estimated to be US $24 billion) due to over-exploitation, poor supervision of fishery operations and ineffective law enforcement in the […]
The 2014 Global Ocean Commission report From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean has likened the high seas to a ‘failed State’ where ‘lawlessness verging on anarchy’ prevails and it is free for ‘plunder and neglect’. Eighteen months after the report was released, the authors have concluded that although threats to […]
A historical climate deal was reached in Paris on 12 Dec 2015. The legally binding agreement which has been touted as differentiated, balanced, durable and ambitious aims to limit the increase in the global average temperature to “well below 2 degree C”, above pre-industrial levels while “pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 […]
On 4th February 2016, India and China held their first-ever „Maritime Affairs Dialogue‟ at New Delhi. While the Indian side was led by the Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Chinese delegation was led by the Assistant Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). […]
In December 2015, China commissioned Hefei (174) – the third Type 052D guided- missile destroyer into its navy. 1 The warship represents the most advanced surface combatant ever operated by the PLA Navy, and comparable to the best in the world. It is armed with potent long-range missiles like the HHQ-9 (anti-air), the YJ-18 (anti-ship), […]
The Indian Navy will be holding its second International Fleet Review (IFR) in February 2016 and this important event showcasing India’s global maritime outreach is being held at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command. As is the case with similar international maritime engagements, the theme of this event ‘United through the Oceans’ is predicated […]
An impending strategic contest between China and India in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where both the Asian behemoths jostle for power and influence, in ways reminiscent of the US-Soviet rivalry of the cold war days, is well discussed in existing literature. Bearing two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments, one-third of its bulk cargo, and […]
Background Geographic proximity, cultural similarities, anti-colonialism and the spirit of AfroAsian solidarity have been the guiding pillars of India-Indonesia relationship. This was seen in the first Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955 convened by the two countries. The similar ideologies of the two countries towards non-alignment, Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence) led to India […]
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 […]