Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Changes in maritime scenario will impact Asia’s growth”

— Photo: M.Vedhan

OFFERING HIS TAKE: Inspector General SPS Basra, Commander, Coast Guard Region (East), interacting with participants of the advanced maritime security training organised for the ASEAN Regional Forum in Chennai on Monday.

CHENNAI: The maritime economic scenario worldwide is in the middle of revolutionary changes, Inspector-General SPS Basra, Commander, Coast Guard Region (East), said on Monday.

Inaugurating advanced maritime security training for the ASEAN Regional Forum, Commander Basra said these changes and the emerging sea dependent trade pattern of the world would, undoubtedly, have a significant impact on Asia’s maritime and economic growth in the next decade or so.

The present maritime security environment was international, in which not only the countries of the region but also those of the immediate regions were dependent on safe and secure shipping routes.

Of late, under the light of modern technology, the region was emerging as the most imperilled zone owing to the rise of many non-military threats. Despite the international laws and regulations, the seas remained full of changes and concerns, he said.

The Asian Regional Forum was aimed at generating a sense of mutual co-operation and understanding among the member-countries. It was meant to facilitate cooperation among the maritime forces in the region through exchange of information , he said.

Nations that had neglected the seas lost their independence, said Commandant S. Paramesh, Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Coast Guard Region (East). Only the strong maritime powers flourished. The maritime countries struck a balance between development and maritime security.

Commandant Paramesh said there were three major threats to maritime security: attack on maritime installations; attack on ships; and acquisition of maritime expertise by terrorist outfits.

Similarly, the threat analysis could be categorised broadly into infiltration, sabotage, commandeering, piracy and armed robbery, maritime terrorism, maritime frauds, narco-terrorism and marine pollution. These threats extended beyond maritime boundaries, and it would be difficult for nations to address them individually. For this, the resources in the region needed to be pooled, and regional cooperation was the only effective way of providing a safe and secure maritime environment. Bold and proactive steps were the need of the hour, he said.

The maritime forces, he said, should not differentiate between national and international offenders and should always be committed to ensuring safety seas for all mariners.

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