Maritime Security in Indian Waters

The maritime security of India is determined by its unique peninsular geography, spanning a coastline of over 7,516 kilometers, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of over 2 million square kilometers, and a strategic position bridging the Western and Eastern choke points of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Primary Maritime Zones of India

• Territorial Waters: Extends up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline, over which India exercises full sovereignty.
• Contiguous Zone: Extends from 12 to 24 nautical miles, allowing enforcement of customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws.
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Extends up to 200 nautical miles, granting India exclusive rights for economic exploitation, including fishing, mineral extraction, and energy production.

Strategic Vulnerabilities and Choke Points

India’s maritime security is deeply tied to the stability of critical sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) and global maritime choke points that frame the Indian Ocean.

Key Global Choke Points in the Indian Ocean Region

• Strait of Malacca: Located between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, it acts as the primary gateway for trade between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
• Bab-el-Mandeb: Connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, serving as a critical artery for energy security and European trade.
• Strait of Hormuz: Links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, handling the highest volume of global crude oil transshipments.
• Mozambique Channel: Located between Madagascar and Mozambique, functioning as an alternate route for global shipping bypassing the Red Sea corridors.

Emerging Security Threats in Indian Waters

The threat landscape in Indian waters has evolved from traditional state-centric conflicts to complex non-traditional maritime threats.

Asymmetric and Non-Traditional Threats

• Maritime Terrorism: Exemplified by the 2008 Mumbai attacks (26/11), where terrorists exploited the sea route to infiltrate the coastal border, highlighting vulnerabilities in coastal surveillance.
• Piracy and Armed Robbery: Concentrated in the Gulf of Aden, the Western Indian Ocean, and periodically in the Malacca Straits, disrupting mercantile shipping lines.
• Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing: Massive commercial trawling by foreign distant-water fishing fleets undermines local marine ecology and deprives domestic fishermen of livelihood security.
• Maritime Trafficking: The smuggling of narcotics via the “Golden Crescent” (Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan) route into the Arabian Sea, alongside human trafficking and small arms proliferation.

Institutional Framework and Coastal Defense Architecture

Following the 2008 security breaches, India overhauled its multi-layered coastal security architecture to ensure seamless coordination among various agencies.

Tiered Surveillance and Defense Mechanism

• Indian Navy: Designated as the authority responsible for overall maritime security, including coastal and offshore defense beyond 12 nautical miles.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG): Responsible for policing the territorial waters (0 to 12 nautical miles) and the EEZ, protecting artificial islands, and coordinating marine pollution control.
• Marine Police: Created under the Coastal Security Scheme (CSS) to patrol the shallow coastal waters close to the shore (0 to 5 nautical miles) utilizing dedicated coastal police stations.

Technological Infrastructure for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA)

• National Command Control Communication and Intelligence Network (NC3I): Connects 51 stations of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to provide a real-time common operational picture.
• Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC): Located in Gurugram, it acts as the nodal center for tracking commercial shipping traffic in the IOR.
• Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR): Anchored by India to promote regional maritime security by hosting international liaison officers for real-time information sharing on white shipping (commercial vessels).
• National Automatic Identification System (AIS) Chain: A network of coastal radars and AIS transponders installed along the mainland and island territories to monitor vessel movements.

Geopolitical Initiatives and Strategic Doctrines

India seeks to project power and maintain its status as a “Preferred Security Partner” and a “Net Security Provider” in the Indian Ocean Region through dedicated doctrines and groupings.

Key Doctrines and Operations

• SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region): Introduced in 2015, it emphasizes cooperative maritime security, capacity building, and sustainable economic development among Indian Ocean littoral states.
• Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI): Launched at the East Asia Summit in 2019, focusing on seven pillars including maritime ecology, maritime security, and disaster risk reduction.
• Operation Sankalp: Launched by the Indian Navy to provide safe passage to Indian-flagged merchant vessels transiting through the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman amidst regional tensions.

Strategic Maritime Groupings

• The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue): Comprising India, the United States, Japan, and Australia, focusing on maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
• Colombo Security Conclave (CSC): Formed by India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Mauritius, targeting maritime security, counter-terrorism, and cyber security in the Indian Ocean.
• Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA): An inter-governmental organization to foster economic cooperation and maritime safety across the Indian Ocean rim.

Island Territories as Strategic Outposts

India’s island chains serve as unsinkable aircraft carriers and critical forward observation bases, shifting India’s security horizon deep into the ocean.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

• Dominates the western entry point to the Strait of Malacca, specifically overseeing the Six Degree Channel and the Ten Degree Channel.
• Hosts India’s only operational Tri-Services Command (Andaman and Nicobar Command – ANC), ensuring integrated combat capabilities across army, navy, and air forces.

Lakshadweep Islands

• Positioned close to the Nine Degree Channel, which handles significant commercial shipping traffic between West Asia and East Asia.
• Acts as a vital outpost to monitor maritime activities in the Arabian Sea and counter piracy attempts extending from the Somali coast.

Fact File and Trivia for Prelims

• Six Degree Channel: Separates the Great Nicobar Island of India from the Aceh province of Indonesia.
• Ten Degree Channel: Separates the Andaman Islands chain from the Nicobar Islands chain in the Bay of Bengal.
• Nine Degree Channel: Separates the island of Minicoy from the main Lakshadweep archipelago.
• Eight Degree Channel: Separates the Indian island of Minicoy from the territory of the Maldives.
• SAGAR Policy Launch: Formally articulated by India during the Prime Minister’s visit to Mauritius in March 2015.
• Project Seabird: Located at Karwar, Karnataka, it is one of the largest naval infrastructure projects aimed at creating a major naval base on India’s western coast.
• Swadhina Chintamani: The historical maritime manual of ancient India that documents traditional navigation routes and wind patterns across the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.