India will work with willing nations for peace in Indian Ocean

India has told a gathering of navy chiefs and heads of maritime forces of 12 countries, including Bangladesh, that New Delhi will continue to oppose and deter the attempts of aggression on land and sea and also called for a collaborative effort in this regard.

Addressing the third maritime conclave in Goa yesterday, Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said India would work with all willing nations for peace in the Indian Ocean region, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"Standing for a rules-bound world," he said.

"Maritime domain is so vast and challenges are so diverse that going alone is not an option for practically any country. We welcome all nations which respect rules and shun aggression, to collaborate in our region," Kumar said without naming China's aggressive military build-up in the Indian Ocean Region.

The third edition of Goa Maritime Conclave 2021 is being hosted by the Indian Navy from November 7 to 9 with the theme "Maritime Security and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats: A Case for Proactive Role for IOR (Indian Ocean Region-IOR) Navies."

The Indian Navy is hosting chiefs of Navies/ heads of Maritime Forces from 12 Indian Ocean Region countries comprising Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Vice Admiral A K Chawla, flag officer commanding-in-chief, Southern Indian Naval Command, highlighted the importance of the maritime domain and Indian Navy's commitment towards ensuring safety, security, and inclusive growth in the IOR.

He expressed confidence that discussions during the Goa Maritime Conclave would help foster a shared understanding of the emerging non-traditional threats in the maritime domain and would also help in developing a 'common perspective'.

Kumar pointed to India's continued efforts towards reaching out to the IOR countries bilaterally and under the multilateral frameworks IORA, BIMSTEC, Colombo Security Conclave and other structures and the Indian initiative of setting up the Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) towards fostering better understanding of the maritime domain and sought further support and participation from maritime countries of the IOR.

In his keynote speech, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla reiterated that maritime transport and logistics are a major component of the Blue Economy and are particularly important for IOR countries.

Half of the world's container ships, one-third of the world's bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of the world's oil shipments traverse through the IOR, he pointed out.