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are being progressed, we are concurrently working towards further augmentation of assets and infrastructure under Coastal Security Phase II.Ó
admiral Joshi informed that a Coastal Security bill to further improve multiple agency and Centre-state interface has also been drafted. The Ministry of Home affairs (MHa) has agreed to steer it. He also explained about the Ôhub and spokeÕmodel as part of the coastal security measures wherein information is received from the coastal police force, radars, transponders and the data is analysed at the regional headquarters level and concurrently shared with the JOCs and all that neutral and nonhostile inputs are filtered out.
On ChinaÕs increasing maritime capability and recent activities in the South China Sea, he said that the Indian Navy has no confrontation with any Navy and is constantly in the process of evaluating the capability of other navies which could be detrimental to our Navy. ÒWe do not embark on any country specific preparation but only capability development. We look at the capability of other navies and see how we can counter, in our national interest. Our capability should be such that we are able to safeguard our maritime interest.ÓOn the South China Sea, he said that the Indian Navy does not oper- ate on a regular basis but has units at sea and the issue is under close observation.
The Navy Chief said that INS VikramadityaÕs recent commissioning has bolstered Indian NavyÕs carrier centric Ôblue-waterÕ capability. The MiG-29K fighters at Goa are undertaking intensive training, to commence deck flying and integrate Vikramaditya into NavyÕs operational architecture.
Further giving details of different programmes, the admiral said that the Vikrant is expected to be commissioned around 2017. On the Hawk advanced jet trainers (aJTs), he said with its recent induction, naval aviation is undergoing a qualitative transformation. Similarly, the recent induction of P-8I boeings has ushered in a new era for NavyÕs air surveillance and stand-off attack capabilities. ÒThe P-8I programme is going great. It is a long-range surveillance and stand-off attack aircraft.Ó Informing further on the maritime patrol aircraft of the Navy, he said that the long-range maritime reconnaissance (LrMr) is the biggest in the category and request for proposal (rFP) for mediumrange maritime reconnaissance (MrMr) has been issued a month back. admiral Joshi said that the Indian Navy, which already has experience in operating amphibous craft like the Sealand, does have plans for induction of amphibious aircraft, which would be of great use in far-flung islands like in Lakshwadeep and Maldives. Updating on Project 75I, the Navy Chief admitted that there has been delay and the Navy is hopeful that the final approval would be accorded early. Arihant, the nuclear powered submarine, he said, is likely to be inducted within a year and 100 per cent of harbour acceptance trials are now over.
On the Sindhurakshak incident, the admiral informed that salvage activity has not yet commenced and the Navy is in the process of finalising from five international vendors, out of which three were called for commercial bid. The L1 vendor will be decided soon. Quite a bit of investigation has been done, and further details would be found after the salvage activity. ÒThe board of Inquiry (bOI) will take for weeks, but the submarine has to be floated.”
as regards foreign cooperation, the Navy Chief said that bilateral Coordinated Patrols (COrPaT) along shared international maritime boundaries are being regularly conducted with Indonesian and Thai navies, to address common concerns of poaching, drugs and human trafficking, and gunrunning. The maiden COrPaT with Myanmar was undertaken this year and Òwe plan to invite more Indian Ocean region (IOr) countries into similar cooperative endeavours. Two of our initiatives IONS and MILaN have been receiving overwhelming response as well as requests for membership, and have helped productive interaction with a number of navies. The IONS Operational Seminar, held at Mumbai in September this year, was a success and saw participation by 22 regional navies. Similarly, MILaN has been steadily gathering momentum. beginning with just five members in 1995, we hosted 14 navies for MILaN 2012. Next year we are expecting 20 littoral navies to participate in MILaN 2014.ÓOn his recent visit to Sri Lanka which was soon followed by the Sril Lankan Defence MinisterÕs India visit, the CNS said that itÕs an ongoing activity and there is at present no plan of scaling up naval cooperation with the country.
On the proposal for the appointment of a four-star officer as the permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Navy Chief stated that all the three services have agreed to have a permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee who would be in-charge of looking after the tri-services issues and a final decision on the matter would be taken by the government. However, discussions on whether the Chairman would be from the Indian army, Navy or air Force, service or non-service has not been discussed by the services and would be a political decision.