Two-day Naval commanders' conference begins today

Naval commanders are going to hold two-day conference from Monday to review the coastal security situation and to deliberate upon the special security measures laid down by the government after the terror attacks on Mumbai.

The two-day conference which begins today in the port city of Vishakhapatnam, aka “the Jewel of the East Coast”, will come to an end on April 15.

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Vishakhapatnam is also the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.

The Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta will inaugurate the conference to be attended by senior officers from the Navy, the three naval command headquarters, the Andaman and Nicobar Command, and the two fleets, among others.

In the wake of Mumbai terror attacks on Nov 26 last year that exposed the lack of coordination among security agencies, the Navy has been entrusted with added responsibility of comprehensive maritime security, including coastal security. Since then new organisations, structures and procedures for achieving synergy among all stake holders such as the coast guard, marine police and other central and state security agencies have been operationalised.

‘Coastal Security’ is, therefore, one of the major pivotal issues of this conference. Measures to further improve effectiveness of the Navy in anti-piracy missions will also be discussed during the conference.

The government entrusted the naval commanders to act as Coastal Defence Commanders, and provided the Navy with additional 1,000-men ‘Sagar Prahari Bal’ to meet the requirements of forces, and create a new north-western region for the Coastal Guard in Gujarat.

The number of ships, aircraft, helicopters, bases and manpower for both the Navy and the CG will be increased, the government had said.

Over the past six months, the navy has deployed ships continuously in the Gulf of Aden on anti-piracy missions. In the coming years, the Navy will also be armed with latest weapons to deal with the security problems effectively.