New Delhi, October 12: Cautioning the Navy against complacency, Defence Minister A K Antony today said some recent incidents have brought to fore the need for further strengthening the country’s coastal and maritime security.
“Our maritime forces are capable of protecting our frontier, however this should not lead one into feeling of complacency. There have been isolated incidents, which have highlighted the need to further strengthen our coastline and maritime security,” Antony said here.
Addressing the three-day Naval Commanders Conference here, Antony said the Indian Navy has been mandated to be the ‘net security provider’ to island nations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
“Indian Navy has been mandated to be the net security provider to island nations in the IOR. We would like to assure our maritime neighbours about our unstinted support for their security and economic prosperity,” he said.
On security of Indian maritime and coastal regions, he said the efforts made by the agencies must show improvement in their response mechanism on the ground.
“Our coastline is vast and round-the-clock patrolling is not an easy proposition. Naval ships, submarines and aircrafts are being extensively deployed, but still a lot more needs to be done. At the end of the day, all our collective efforts must show more improvement in our response mechanism on the ground,” Antony said.
The Defence Minister said that several measures have been taken to strengthen the coastal security such as establishment of joint operation centres, induction of Fast Interception Crafts and setting up of Sagar Prahari Bal.
“Several security exercises and awareness drives have been conducted by the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine police of coastal states to sensitize the fishing community about threats from the sea. Such exercises must be replicated as frequently as possible,” he said.
—-PTI—–