Sea Vigil-21

The Indian Navy have started a two-day mega defence exercise on January 12, 2021. The Defence exercise will be concluded on January 12, 2021. This exercise will cover India’s 7516 km coastline and the exclusive economic zone.

Key Facts

• This is the largest coastal defence exercise.
• The exercise will cover the 13 coastal states and Union Territories maritime stakeholders.
• This year, the Indian Navy is conducting the second edition of the biennial pan-India coastal defence exercise.

Significance of the exercise

This naval exercise will also build-up the major theatre level exercise TROPEX. Both the exercises, Sea Vigil and TROPEX will cover the entire spectrum of maritime security challenges together. The exercises will also cover the transition from peace to conflict.

Exercise TROPEX

• TROPEX stands for Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise.
• It is an inter-service military exercise in which all the three services, that is Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, and the Coast Guard participates.
• The exercise lasts for a month and is conducted as the year starts.
• It is carried out in three phases namely, the independent workup phase, joint workup phase and the tactical phase.
• The exercise was started conducting in 2005 and it is held annually since then. Its latest edition was conducted in 2017.

Purpose of the TROPEX exercise

The exercise is conducted with the objective of testing the combat readiness of the all the three forces as well as the Indian Coast Guard. It further seeks to strengthen the interoperability and joint operations in a complex environment.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG)

It is an Armed Force, Search and Rescue and Maritime Law Enforcement agency. The agency helps in protecting India’s maritime interests and enforces its maritime law. It was established on August 18,1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978. It enjoys its jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The agency works under the aegis of Ministry of Defence.