Security threats in IOR

  Indian ocean region include countries in Africa like Mozambique, Somalia, islands like Mauritius, Diego Garcia, West Asian, South Asians and South East Asian nations and Australia

Security threats

• 7500 K.M. coastline vulnerable to infiltration and trafficking, e.g., Mumbai attack
• Piracy, e.g., along Somalian coasts
  
• Growing presence of Chinese vessels
• Threats from non state actors, e.g., Houthi's
• Safety of shipping vessels and cargo ~70% trade, e.g., Hijacking
• Choke points like Strait of Malacca, Bab al Mandab etc.
• Multiple agencies like Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal Police etc
  
• Unreported fishing
• Marine pollution
• Disasters

Way forward

• Increased number of navel assets, ships, submarines, listening stations, refueling centers and naval bases.
• Joint patrols and collaborations with navies in the region, e.g., SriLanka, Maldives, Indonesia etc.
• International collaborations with countries like US, UK, France etc. e.g., LEMOA, BECA, QUAD etc.
  
• Exercises increasing interoperability and HADR, e.g., Malabar, Milan, Indra etc.
  
• Conclaves and partnership for common issus, IPEF, IORA, CSC etc
• Latest weapons integration, e.g., Brahmos, 75I, 3rd carrier etc.
  
• Real time information analysis and domain awarness, e.g., IOR-IFC, drones, AI-ML usage
  

 As the net security provider and first responder in IOR, India needs to play a proactive role to ensure security and growth for all in the region.