India to play constructive role in building collective maritime competence: Navy chief

Visakhapatnam, February 27

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar on Sunday emphasised the need for building a collective maritime competence to ensure safety and stability at the seas as it was impossible for any single nation to counter the growing transnational threats.

India, he said, has prioritised certain elements to play a constructive role in building collective maritime competence as “we want to make a real contribution to a free, more open and increasingly inclusive global commons.” “Prosperity, security and growth of all through cooperative collaboration is our driving motto. The focus is on safety, security and stability at sea,” he said.

Admiral Hari Kumar delivered the keynote address here at the International Maritime Seminar, as part of the ongoing MILAN-2022, on the theme ‘Harnessing Collective Maritime Competence through Collaboration’.

Seas formed the lifeline of global trade and prosperity, he noted, but added that navies’ responsibilities could not be restricted to protecting each country’s trade alone.

“Navies should act as collective sentinels. Like-minded navies should pool their expertise, experience and resources to manage the global commons,” the Navy chief observed.

He stated that India prioritised certain elements to play a constructive role in building collective maritime competence, including support to harness a multitude of competencies in navies of friendly nations.

“Engaging partner nations to develop inter-operability and trust and maintaining sustained and continuous engagement are the other elements of our priorities,” Admiral Hari Kumar added.

National Maritime Security Coordinator of India Vice-Admiral (retired) G Ashok Kumar, Admiral Samuel J Paparo of the USA, Vice-Admiral Michael Noonan of Australia, Commodore Shaheen Rahman of Bangladesh and Admiral Y Hiroshi of Japan addressed the first session of the seminar.