In an effort to test the operational readiness of all the stakeholders to ward off any attack like the 26\11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 wherein terrorists came in through the sea route, the Navy has commenced the largest ever coastal defence exercise Sea Vigil along the entire 7,000 km coast of the country. The two-day fist of its kind national level exercise starting on Tuesday also covers the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The exercise covers the entire 7,516.6 km coast covering 13 coastal states and union territories and stake holders also include fishing and coastal communities, Navy spokesperson DK Sharma said here on Tuesday.
Explaining the objectives of Exercise Sea Vigil, he said it aims to comprehensively and holistically validate the efficacy of the measures taken since ‘26/11’. Seaward monitoring during the exercise will entail patrolling off coast, in Offshore Development Areas and off our islands by the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, supported by the State Marine Police.
Closer coast, strategic assets, ports, Single Point Moorings (SPMs) will be patrolled by designated agencies. Seaward monitoring will also entail inputs from technical means, including intelligence sources. Shore-based monitoring will entail enhanced vigil by the State Police along the coast, monitoring of fish landing centres by state fisheries departments as also monitoring of port areas by respective port authorities.
The exercise aims to simultaneously activate the coastal security mechanism across all states and Union Territories. The exercise will cover a wide frontage covering for the first time the entire coast of India, including island territories. The exercise will also go deeper, being spread over seaward, coastal, and hinterland areas. Evaluation of critical areas and processes, including inter-agency coordination, information sharing and technical surveillance will be undertaken.
On the first of its kind drill, he said so far smaller exercises are conducted in coastal states on a biannual basis, including combined exercises amongst adjoining states are conducted. The national level reflects the distance that has been covered since ‘26/11’ and the relative maturing of the organisation for coastal security to take on this large-scale endeavour.
The scale of the exercise is unprecedented in terms of the geographical extent, the number of stakeholders involved, number of units participating and in terms of the objectives to be met. All operational assets of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard are participating in the SEA VIGIL. The conduct of the exercise SEA VIGIL is also being facilitated by the Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs, Shipping, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Fisheries, Customs, State Governments and other agencies of centre and state.
Post ‘26/11’, the Indian Navy was designated as the agency responsible for overall maritime security, including offshore and coastal security. The Indian Coast Guard was designated as the agency responsible for coastal security in territorial waters, including waters to be patrolled by the State Marine Police.
Coastal security is complex construct since it involves activities both at sea and at land. The targets of the terrorists could be well inland. In the aftermath of “26/11”, a whole-of-government approach to maritime security was adopted and a large number of measures were taken by a host of stakeholders.
At the apex level National Committee on Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS) with Cabinet Secretary at the helm was established to review important matters pertaining to Coastal Security and for effective centre-state coordination.
Likewise committees have also been established at State and District level. At the operational level, it included setting up of Joint Operations Centres (JOCs) of the Navy and Coastal Security Operations Centres of the Indian Coast Guard. A multi-tiered patrol and surveillance mechanism with focus on technical surveillance and augmenting Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) through the coastal radar chain and other systems was adopted. Real-time information sharing through the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence (NC3I) Network; greater intelligence and operational coordination were made the focus areas.