Navy can maintain order in the Indian Ocean: Naval Chief Admiral Karam

New Delhi: Indian Naval Chief Admiral Karambir Singh clarified, ‘The goal for the Indian economy has been set for USD 5 trillion. The blue economy has to be provided with an impetus for this purpose. The government has started efforts for this, and the Indian Navy has the capability to provide support for the policy.’ The Naval Chief also pointed out that India has the necessary resources and skills to maintain order in the Indian Ocean. This assurance issued by the Indian Naval Chief becomes significant while concerns are being expressed over the Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean.

The Naval Chief underlined the importance of the Indian Ocean sector while speaking at the webinar organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Chinese activities are on the rise in this region, and it has been repeatedly evident that the Indian Ocean region faces a threat of Chinese expansionism. Against this background, Admiral Karambir Singh comforted the country, asserting about the might of the Indian Navy. The Naval Chief clarified that the Indian Navy has the necessary sources, resources and the skill to supervise and maintain order in the Indian Ocean sector. Simultaneously, the Naval Chief added that the Indian Navy has all the necessary might to support the government’s blue economy policies.

Indian Ocean Rim Association has 23 members, and India has initiated steps for joint efforts by all these members to provide an impetus to the blue economy. Naval Chief Karambir Singh expressed confidence that in view of the major challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic. According to him, if the blue economy is promoted, it will become an engine to provide momentum to the economies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India is becoming a leader on the blue economy front on the global level. Efforts have been started to establish coordination and cooperation among all the factors related to the marine economy. Naval Chief Karambir Singh pointed out that the Indian Navy is an integral part of this.

The Naval Chief clarified, at this time, that the Indian Navy will provide all the necessary cooperation to exploit the considerable potential of the marine region of the country.

A vast 7,516 kilometres long coastline, 14,500 kilometres long internal waterways and 1,382 islands are the sources available to India. This will present a major opportunity in the blue economy to India in the coming times. The Naval Chief claimed that these would include everything from energy to the environment and from fishing to tourism. The Naval Chief expressed hope that India will set the objective to exploit all these sources from this sector, known as the India Ocean Rim, for the economy. Indian fishermen use only 70% of the potential available in the Indian marine sector. Admiral Karambir Singh said that now there is a need to exploit deep-sea fishing.

Nearly 300 Gigawatts of wind energy can be generated by using the Indian coastline. The Naval Chief pointed out that efforts have started to generate a meagre 5% of this potential capacity. Currently, the blue economy contributes to only 4% of the Indian economy. Admiral Karambir Singh expressed confidence that the blue economy can be a much greater contributor to the Indian economy.