Security experts speaking at the Raisina Dialogue on Wednesday termed maritime security as the biggest challenge in the Indian Ocean Region and called upon countries to respect international laws on maritime disputes.
“Since 75 per cent of the global trade passes through Indian Ocean, the security and safety of the sea lanes in very important,” said Vice-Admiral Herve de Bonnaventure, Deputy Director General of International Relations and Strategy in Ministry of Defence of France. He added rising nationalism, fuelled by territorial disputes in the South China Sea threaten international laws.
“Compliance of international laws and dialogue are the very heart of multilateralism,” Bonnaventure said.
Speaking on the topic of ‘Evolving Politics of the Asia-Pacific’, Vice-Admiral Girish luthra of Indian Navy termed terrorism, sovereignty issues-territorial disputes, ideological, cultural differences as the major reasons for fault lines in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Competition and rivalry in the region can be seen in the Sea Areas, and the maritime domain is increasingly shaping the geopolitics of the region. This domain is also the arena where contesting rhetoric and fierce nationalism are being manifested. Different approaches to security are being put forward by key players. While countries like India lay stress on their Maritime Interests, some countries stress both Maritime Rights and Maritime Interests. Some countries are aligning or acting or rebalancing to the East, while some are emphasising local resolution, and the need to March West. Use of unconventional means, as well as covert support to terrorism, insurgencies and rebel movements has resulted in new complexities, which have extended to the maritime domain,” luthra said.
Admiral Harry B Harris, Commander of the US Pacific Command, mentioned ISIl (also ISIS) as a major threat to the region. He added that while ISIl is eliminated in some parts of the world, some of the surviving foreign fighters are likely to return to the countries from where they came.