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- dEsPeraTe cRaNky -
New Delhi:
Navies of 35 nations from the Indian Ocean Region will meet next week at Abu Dhabi to debate and chalk out an action plan for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
The three-day meeting will be held under the aegis of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) initiative of the Indian Navy.
The IONS-2010, the second conclave of the Navy Chiefs of nations from the region including Pakistan, would take place between May 10 and 12 when the mantle of leadership of the naval grouping would pass on to UAE Navy Chief from Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma for a two-year tenure.
"The IONS-2010 will discuss efficiency in anti-piracy operations (in the Gulf of Aden) where the expertise gained by the navies in countering piracy threat will be shared and other means of tackling the menace will be worked out," Navy's Assistant Chief (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence), Rear Admiral Sudharshan Shrikhande told reporters here today.
This will be the first time the two-year-old grouping would discuss the threat from the sea brigands, "as piracy was not a major issue in the region" when IONS met for its inaugural session in February 2008.
"The meet will discuss means to combine the capacities of the 35 Navies, including Somalia which is a member, and also debate what the Navies wanted to do and how to do it (in anti-piracy efforts)," he added.
Asked if the discussions in Abu Dhabi would lead to the formation of an Indian Ocean Region Task Force (IONTF) on the lines of European task force and the US-led Combined Task force, Shrikhande said it was a futuristic proposition and since it was the first time the topic was being debated by the grouping, it could take some time before any plans could take a concrete shape.
He said IONS-2010 would also debate technical expertise sharing, intelligence and information sharing among the Navies of the Indian Ocean Region, apart from cooperation in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
Among the topics IONS-2010 would discuss include 'Reinforcement of Regional stability and establishment of good order at sea', 'Cooperative efforts to enhance maritime security including threats, risks and vulnerabilities', 'Common maritime security strategy', and 'Regional capacity building and capability enhancement'.
On the possibility of US, UK and Japan showing keen interest in joining IONS, Shrikhande said the three nations had applied recently for observer status and the applications would be taken up by the Abu Dhabi meet for a decision. China, however, had not applied for either membership or observer status, he said.
These countries, Shrikhande said, could not apply for membership of the grouping as they did not have any territory in the Indian Ocean region. France was a member of IONS as it had territory in the region in the form of Reunion Islands, which was represented in French Parliament.
Giving the example of India being an observer in the West Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), he said observers had no voting rights in the groupings, be it WPNS or IONS.
IONS, an Indian Navy initiative in regional diplomacy, met first in 2008 when Navy Chiefs of 22 member-nations attended with another five countries represented by other naval officers. "We expect a very good attendance in the IONS-2010 and Abu Dhabi has already sent invite to all the member countries including Pakistan," Shrikhande said.
On the leadership of the grouping, the Navy officer said the charter of IONS had mandated that the chairmanship was rotated among the 35 members.
"Now it has moved to the Gulf region, next it could go to one of the African nations, then to South East Asia and then back to South Asia," he said.
Whether Pakistan could become the chairman of IONS, Shrikhande said, "theoretically and practically yes. It has to be worked out. Usually, the leadership is passed on through general consensus."
The UAE, the officer said, had chosen the theme "Together for Reinforcement of Maritime Security in Indian Ocean".
As a preparation for this year's meet, the IONS had held two major events in the last two years such as technical workshops, essay competitions on "Sustaining the IONS Initiative -- Practical Solutions" and "Cooperative EEZ surveillance, options and initiatives" and concept discussions in India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Kenya.
Future programmes include another workshop on HADR to be hosted by Bangladesh Navy in October this year followed by table-top and naval exercises on the subject, he added.
Navies of 35 nations from the Indian Ocean Region will meet next week at Abu Dhabi to debate and chalk out an action plan for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
The three-day meeting will be held under the aegis of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) initiative of the Indian Navy.
The IONS-2010, the second conclave of the Navy Chiefs of nations from the region including Pakistan, would take place between May 10 and 12 when the mantle of leadership of the naval grouping would pass on to UAE Navy Chief from Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma for a two-year tenure.
"The IONS-2010 will discuss efficiency in anti-piracy operations (in the Gulf of Aden) where the expertise gained by the navies in countering piracy threat will be shared and other means of tackling the menace will be worked out," Navy's Assistant Chief (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence), Rear Admiral Sudharshan Shrikhande told reporters here today.
This will be the first time the two-year-old grouping would discuss the threat from the sea brigands, "as piracy was not a major issue in the region" when IONS met for its inaugural session in February 2008.
"The meet will discuss means to combine the capacities of the 35 Navies, including Somalia which is a member, and also debate what the Navies wanted to do and how to do it (in anti-piracy efforts)," he added.
Asked if the discussions in Abu Dhabi would lead to the formation of an Indian Ocean Region Task Force (IONTF) on the lines of European task force and the US-led Combined Task force, Shrikhande said it was a futuristic proposition and since it was the first time the topic was being debated by the grouping, it could take some time before any plans could take a concrete shape.
He said IONS-2010 would also debate technical expertise sharing, intelligence and information sharing among the Navies of the Indian Ocean Region, apart from cooperation in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
Among the topics IONS-2010 would discuss include 'Reinforcement of Regional stability and establishment of good order at sea', 'Cooperative efforts to enhance maritime security including threats, risks and vulnerabilities', 'Common maritime security strategy', and 'Regional capacity building and capability enhancement'.
On the possibility of US, UK and Japan showing keen interest in joining IONS, Shrikhande said the three nations had applied recently for observer status and the applications would be taken up by the Abu Dhabi meet for a decision. China, however, had not applied for either membership or observer status, he said.
These countries, Shrikhande said, could not apply for membership of the grouping as they did not have any territory in the Indian Ocean region. France was a member of IONS as it had territory in the region in the form of Reunion Islands, which was represented in French Parliament.
Giving the example of India being an observer in the West Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), he said observers had no voting rights in the groupings, be it WPNS or IONS.
IONS, an Indian Navy initiative in regional diplomacy, met first in 2008 when Navy Chiefs of 22 member-nations attended with another five countries represented by other naval officers. "We expect a very good attendance in the IONS-2010 and Abu Dhabi has already sent invite to all the member countries including Pakistan," Shrikhande said.
On the leadership of the grouping, the Navy officer said the charter of IONS had mandated that the chairmanship was rotated among the 35 members.
"Now it has moved to the Gulf region, next it could go to one of the African nations, then to South East Asia and then back to South Asia," he said.
Whether Pakistan could become the chairman of IONS, Shrikhande said, "theoretically and practically yes. It has to be worked out. Usually, the leadership is passed on through general consensus."
The UAE, the officer said, had chosen the theme "Together for Reinforcement of Maritime Security in Indian Ocean".
As a preparation for this year's meet, the IONS had held two major events in the last two years such as technical workshops, essay competitions on "Sustaining the IONS Initiative -- Practical Solutions" and "Cooperative EEZ surveillance, options and initiatives" and concept discussions in India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Kenya.
Future programmes include another workshop on HADR to be hosted by Bangladesh Navy in October this year followed by table-top and naval exercises on the subject, he added.
