Text of the Vice-President’s speech – Inauguration of International Maritime Seminar – MILAN 2024
22 FEB 2024
Namaskar!
I am happy to be with you in Eastern Naval Command which has played a very crucial role in India’s maritime history and earned laurels for the country. I extend warm greetings to all our friends, who have come together from several countries to participate in the International Maritime Seminar of MILAN 2024. Those of my friends who are from abroad, Milan is a hindi word. Milan means a sublime meeting of mind, heart and soul. This seminar undoubtedly will exemplify the same.
Soothing to find that editions of MILAN are continually getting productive and in some ways defining way forward stances. It is one of its kind impactful platform for sharing best practices and expertise as also a crucible of involved interaction much
beyond surface scratching.
With modest beginning in 1995 to the participation of more than 15 warships and 51 delegations, MILAN is certainly turning out to be a delivery platform for meaningful dialogue and deliberations for participating Navies.
Friends-Disruptive technologies of all kinds have made deep inroads in our lives. These offer both challenges and opportunities. I am sure there will be an occasion for you all to deliberate on this aspect as well.
Milan 2024 aims to strengthen global cooperation and maritime security-an ever evolving challenge. Its object is to foster interoperability and understanding between participating navies.This august assemblage of domain experts serves as a testament to the shared commitment of nations towards ensuring the much needed maritime safety and Security.
Proactive collaboration key and if I may say so only key to shared peace & prosperity. Milan 24 indeed has an apt theme “Partners Across Oceans: Collaboration, Synergy,Growth”. This is of contemporaneous
relevance, noticing emerging challenges and reflecting the spirit of unity that transcends geographical boundaries.
Friends, it is in the fitness of things that India, home to one sixth of humanity and largest functional vibrant democracy, with rising economy is playing its due role in catalysing partnerships, Collaboration, Synergy Across Oceans and issues concerning maritime Security.
Given the challenges we face, it imperative for nations to come together, share experiences and develop collaborative strategies to ensure the safety, security and sustainability of our oceans.
The stakeholders would certainly avail the opportunity of sea exercises that would enhance interoperability, enable exchange of best practices and will certainly boost confidence so as to undertake missions together in the future, to tackle common challenges. Protection of Global Supply Chains, Avoiding Deeper Regional Tensions and exploitation of blue economy are global concerns that can no longer be ignored.
Observance of maritime order is quintessential to peace and harmony of the region as also for the maintenance of supply chains and promotion of trade and Commerce. Oceans have played an important part in India’s history right from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization going back to thousands of years.
Global dependence on the seas for trade and commerce necessitates the protection of the sea lines of communication.
And which is huge that involves everyone on the planet.This global dependence necessitates protection of the seas, lines of communication.
Maritime domain is also very vital for blue Economy.The ancient Indian philosophy emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life and the imperative to work together for the greater good.That has been essence of our civilisational ethos ably reflected during our presidency of G-20 that had the motto “One Earth One Family One Future”
Keeping this in mind thoughtfully in 2015-SAGAR – an acronym for ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region’ was initiated. It emphasizes inclusivity and growth for all.
The focus of SAGAR is on concerted cooperative measures for sustainable use of oceans and provides a framework for a safe, secure and stable maritime domain in the region.
In 2019, at the East Asia Summit, this initiative was further enhanced and elaborated through the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) with a focus on seven pillars of maritime security including Maritime Ecology, Maritime Resources, Capacity Building and Resource Sharing, Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management, Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation, Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport.
You all will agree, these are fundamental to the concept for which you are here. It resonates profoundly with the challenges and opportunities that define our contemporary maritime landscape.
Implementing a collaborative strategy is challenging. Varied situations have to be conversed, this challenging task is to be achieved, accomplished by your thought process in this seminar. It requires maritime agencies to improve interoperability, share intelligence and agree on a regional rules based order.
I need not indicate to this august assemblage, challenge to the rule based order is at peak at the moment.Its resolution is an unavoidable necessity, this seminar I am sure would find a way out.
In recent years, we have seen formidable security challenges in the maritime domain and these have acquired new, menacing dimensions having potential to endanger peace, not to speak of unsettling supply chains. If you unsettle supply chains, the impact is geometric, cascading on the lives of ordinary people and therefore it is according to me a prime obligation of people here to find a sustainable way out so that supply chains are kept intact.
Friends, India our nation stands at the cusp of remarkable growth – we are the fifth largest global economy. By the turn of the decade, India will be the third largest ahead of Japan and Germany. In terms of purchasing power we are third globally.
We have set our eyes to be a fully developed nation by 2047- Viksit Bharat. India’s maritime strength will be critical to our marathon to 2047.
Friends, our oceans rather than separating us are pathways to connect us and I would say they are pleasant pathways to connect us.
These are vital to global trade, the exchange of ideas and the sustenance of life itself. You all have the advantage of seeing life very differently. Those of us who do not venture into the sea like you are deprived of that kind of life which you have the occasion to see. For us, who are not a part of this domain, it is a tourist attraction for you it is a challenge to see that it survives, it sustains.
It is imperative that we approach the seas as a shared resource,acknowledging our collective responsibility to protect and preserve but let us help it flourishes and blossoms.
This shared past holds immense value in establishing and furthering diplomatic dialogue even today. It is because of the benign nature of the maritime connect, that one finds the great Indian Epic of Ramayana, continues to be an intrinsic part of the South East Asian culture.
Friends! It is soothing to find that as President of the UN Security Council in 2020 India provided dynamic leadership and direction in envisioning a global roadmap on enhancing maritime security that will go a long way in shaping the contours of emerging world order.
It was the first time that the UN Security Council Open Debate on “Enhancing Maritime Security: A Case for International Cooperation”, was held in August 2021 and it was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was momentous being the first time that maritime security was deliberated in a “holistic manner as an exclusive agenda item” in such a high-level global forum.
Diverse aspects of maritime security call for not isolated not concerted but deeply concerted endeavours so as to protect and support legitimate maritime activities, while countering traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime domain that is the shared heritage of the mankind.
This heritage perceptionally is undervalued.People need to recognize its depth and worth. Indian engagement regional organizations such as the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) reflects our commitment to a cooperative approach towards maritime affairs.
These regional initiatives provide a platform for dialogue, cooperation and collective action, recognizing that the
challenges faced in the maritime domain are not confined by borders.
I need not indicate to this august assemblage that you’re being present here interacting with each other on the sidelines, it is also very significant. It paves the way for innovation, it helps you to chalk out a strategy to deal with challenges and I am sure your interactions will be highly productive.
The interconnectedness of our oceans demands a collaborative effort to address common concerns, including as I indicated earlier and which is of supreme need of the hour–Security.Security is no longer a writing on the wall, people who are not directly concerned are also aware of it. Safety– Another important aspect, hardly a month passes when this issue is not on the center stage of media and sustainable development.
Maritime boundaries are not mere lines on a map, these are the lifelines of nations, channels through which commerce flows, connecting economies and fostering growth.
I need not indicate to this august assemblage that technological import, the connectivity that you sustain, A lapse in that will be highly debilitating for the economing world. Bharat recognizes the significance of respecting these boundaries and fostering a rule based maritime order.
It is consistent stance of our leadership and our Prime Minister has gone on record that these are not the times of expansion and all issues need to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. The planet needs it, there is no other alternative.
We believe that adherence and I would say scrupulous adherence to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is imperative, essential and the only way for the peaceful coexistence and sustainable use of maritime Resources. In the present times, I am sure nobody will disagree.This aspect is severely strained and compromised.
Unilateral actions and disregard for international law can have far-reaching consequences, jeopardizing the stability and security of the entire region. And if not well contained in time, it can go beyond regional disputes.
With a history of maritime excellence, the Indian Navy is dedicated to upholding the principles of freedom of navigation, promoting regional stability and responding to emerging challenges in the maritime domain.
The Indian Navy has been instrumental in fostering regional cooperation through initiatives like MILAN, providing a meaningful platform for navies from around the to be on the same page, share experiences and nurture enduring partnerships.
Friends, as we engage in discussions, let us collectively explore avenues for deeper cooperation, exchange of ideas and best practices to address the evolving challenges in the maritime domain.
As a person not directly connected with your domain I can say, the challenges can come from anywhere, your challenges can emanate anytime. Your preparedness will have to be 24 X 7. I extend my gratitude to all the participants for their commitment to this cause and look forward to fruitful deliberations during MILAN 24.
To my foreign delegates you are in the land of culture. A civilisational depth of more than 5000 years, I am sure you will have cherished moments in this country and this city.
Thank you! Jai Hind!
