The Annual Maritime Power Conference 2012 was held on February 27-28, 2012. While welcoming all to the seventh edition of the Annual Maritime Conference, Admiral (Retd) Sureesh Mehta, Chairman, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), reiterated its wide charter, encompassing all ‘affairs maritime’, but principally to remove the malaise of sea-blindness and recalled the prophecy of Alfred Thayler Mahan, way back in the 19th century, “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean dominates Asia. This ocean is the key to the seven seas. In the 21st century, the destiny of the world will be decided on its waters.” He reminded that this famous prophesy also comes with its fair share of challenges and it is for this reason that the theme for the current session was centred on the Indian Ocean, to analyse the challenges faced by the nation states in this area.

The Indian Ocean is home to 33 nations, which have a great stake in its revenue generating ability. It has been central to the well-being of these States for centuries, and that importance has only increased in the more recent times. India is the only country to have an ocean named after it and the Indian mariners set sail eastwards from the Bay of Bengal in what may have been our first “Look East Policy” as early as the 1st century AD, and set up trading establishments in South East Asia.

He went on to flag three important aspects which were central to the deliberations during the conference. Firstly, the importance of energy security and its economic linkages will rule paramount in the strategic thought process of the nations. In the years ahead; China, Japan and India will import more oil and gas than most other industrialised nations, and much of this will have to come from the Gulf region, to be transported across some of the world’s most important sea lanes.

Secondly, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are an important entity, not only for their economic strength, but equally because they sit astride the busy Malacca strait. In this entire oceanic space, trans-regional geo-strategy, as also geopolitics, are being shaped by the ongoing major change in the overall Asia-Pacific power structure caused by the near simultaneous rise of India, China, Japan and the ASEAN.

Lastly, is the growing significance of the littoral. United Nations has recognised the oceans as the ‘common heritage of mankind’, and freedom of navigation on the high seas as a fundamental principle of maritime law. The geo-strategic significance of sea power emerges from the fact that 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by the sea and over two-thirds of the world’s population lives within 100 miles of it. He reminded that all of the recent major conflicts—from Kosovo to Iraq to Afghanistan—the major interventions have not been over land but from the littoral.

He pointed out that India is the world’s fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Many recent studies have described India as one of the four ‘power centres’ in the world. India’s geographic location, particularly in the maritime context, puts her at centre stage in today’s geo-strategic and geo-economic scenarios, dominated as they are by the needs of energy security and terrorism concerns. Hence, what India does, or does not, would significantly influence the geo-strategic situation of the region. In this context, concepts like Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR ARC) and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) have much to contribute. When IONS shakes hands with West Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), across the Malacca Straits, it should result in further bolstering of the ‘Indo-Pacific’, which is as wide an extension of the strategic space as the nations of the region may want it to be.

Inaugural Address

While inaugurating the conference, Defence Minister A.K. Antony called for global efforts to uproot the threat of piracy. He said that India has already submitted certain proposals at the United Nations. “If ever there was a need for consensual and cooperative effort, it is in relation to piracy and India has put forward certain proposals before the United Nations.”

He pointed out that the Indian Navy has made significant contribution to the global anti-piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) since 2008. “What is significant is that more than 85 per cent of the ships escorted by the Indian Navy are of foreign flag.” Antony said that the challenge of piracy is yet to be effectively quarantined. “There is a consensus that while the pirates can be neutralised at sea; the real solution lies in addressing the root causes, which are complex and are actually located on land.”

The Defence Minister also voiced concern at the military presence of world’s major powers in the IOR despite the waters being far from their shores. “Unlike the Atlantic and Pacific, few of the major powers are geographically contiguous to its waters and yet they have maintained a certain military presence and abiding politico-diplomatic interest in these waters. In the IOR, the net outcome is a constant turbulence of intense diplomatic activity and substantial military investments by the major power.”

The maritime space on earth comprises the three navigable oceans—the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. As the global economic pendulum swings eastwards and Asia is on the move, the strategic importance of the extended IOR has been increasing in the recent decades. Major powers of the world, who had maintained their focus over the Atlantic-Pacific region during the Cold War decades, are now seeing the relevance of the Indian Ocean-Pacific or the Indo-Pacific combine in a new light.

Apart from the strategic and military dimensions, the IOR is identified with many distinctive human security related features. A large cross-section of humanity that inhabits the IOR, or its hinterland, is grappling with crushing impoverishment, the dreaded ‘dollar a day’ syndrome. Concurrently, natural disasters, pernicious piracy, food shortages, environmental degradation, shrinking fish reserves, maritime boundary disputes and climate-induced migration also characterise the IOR.

Over the years, India has taken up two security-related cooperative initiatives; the first is the Milan series that brings together regional navies in Port Blair and the second, is the more recent IONS that provides a forum for the Chiefs of the Navy of the IOR littorals to constructively engage one another. The former is well established since inception in 1995 and its tenth edition held recently was a resounding success. The latter has progressed from its inaugural edition in New Delhi in 2008 to Abu Dhabi in 2010 and is now headed to Cape Town shortly. This open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues seeks to enhance cooperation among the IOR navies.

The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard have been contributing to the ‘common good’ and to the collective security effort. Ever since the Indian Navy joined the anti-piracy effort in the IOR, late 2008, the total number of merchant ships escorted has increased steadily. Yet, piracy cases are continuing at an alarming rate. If ever there was a need for consensual and cooperative effort, it is in relation to piracy and India has put forward certain proposals at the United Nations.

He touched upon another issue relevant to IOR. Climate change and the adverse impact of rise in sea-level on the smaller islands in the IOR is truly a matter of serious concern. This issue needs a comprehensive scientific study and is linked to the larger global effort on how best to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Specific to Asia and the Indian Ocean Region, there may be a need to reassess concepts like choke-points and critical sea lines of communication (SLOCs). Global warming, climate change and the rhythm of monsoons are linked with the health of the entire maritime domain. This is a subtle, complex, non-linear linkage which merits serious attention.