News Highlight
Navy’s IFC-IOR ties up with Seychelles centre for enhancing maritime domain awareness.
Key Takeaway
- Increasing collaboration in the Indian Ocean to improve maritime safety and security.
- The Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram has signed an MOU with the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) in Seychelles.
IFC-IOR (Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region)
- About
- In December 2018, India launched the IFC-IOR at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram.
- It was formed to foster regional cooperation on marine security challenges.
- Maritime terrorism, illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF), piracy, high-seas armed robbery, and human and contraband trafficking are all examples.
- Additionally, the IFC-IOR intends to collaborate with partner countries and multi-national marine structures.
- The goal is to raise overall maritime domain awareness and share information on vessels of interest (i.e., information on white shipping).
- Furthermore, the communication of advanced information on the identity and movement of commercial non-military merchant boats is white shipping information.
Significance of IFC-IOR
- Maritime security is a paramount concern
- The IOR is critical to global trade and the economic prosperity of many countries.
- In addition, the IOR transports over 75% of global maritime trade and 50% of global oil consumption.
- Nonetheless, maritime terrorism, piracy, trafficking, IUUF, arms running, and poaching threaten the region’s marine safety and security.
- Need for a collaborative effort
- Because of the maritime activity’s breadth, scope, and multi-national nature, it is difficult for governments to solve these concerns independently.
- As a result, collaboration among maritime nations in the IOR is critical.
- Part of India’s SAGAR initiative
- The centre was part of the government’s SAGAR framework for Indian Ocean marine cooperation.
- It serves as a base for foreign liaison officers from partner countries.
Mission SAGAR
- About
- Mission Sagar was launched in May 2020 as part of Vision SAGAR.
- India planned to provide Covid-19-related assistance to countries in the Indian Ocean region.
- As part of this Mission, the INS Kesari visited the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.
- It is to aid our maritime neighbours in dealing with the Covid situation.
- Quad initiative against illegal fishing
- The Tokyo Summit is planned to establish a tracking system for illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing (IUUF) in the Indo-Pacific area.
- This will be accomplished by combining the existing monitoring centres in Singapore, India, and the Pacific.
- In addition, Chinese trawler fleets are blamed for most IUUFs in the Indo-Pacific area.
- According to international security experts, Chinese fishing tactics pose a unique and dangerous threat.
- This is because China has the world’s largest fishing fleet.
- It employs this fleet to deadly effect to supply the enormous protein requirement of its population.
- Furthermore, it also offers significant incentives to vessels capable of harvesting massive amounts of catch in a single voyage.
Conclusion
- IUUF has been viewed as a greater danger to maritime security than international piracy in the recent decade.
- It depletes stocks and robs weak regional economies of a vital food source.
- The global community should view marine resources as shared with long-term use to balance human demands and environmental concerns.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu