“THE INDIAN NAVY IS FULLY COMMITTED TOWARDS ‘JOINTMANSHIP' WITH OTHER FORCES AS THAT IS THE WAY FOR THE FUTURE”

ADMIRAL KARAMBIR SINGH assumed command of the Indian Navy on May 31, 2019 as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy in July 1980. He earned his wings as a helicopter pilot in 1981 and has flown extensively on the Chetak (Alouette) and Kamov helicopters. In his career spanning over 39 years, he has commanded Indian Coast Guard Ship Chandbibi, Missile Corvette INS Vijaydurg, as well as two Guided Missile Destroyers, INS Rana and INS Delhi. He has also served as the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet. He was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam, prior taking over helm as the Chief of the Naval Staff. Confident that the Indian Navy can face any challenge, Admiral Singh, in conversation with PRAKASH NANDA, points out how India is playing a stabilising role in the Indo-Pacific with its presence across the region, enabling rapid responses to emerging security challenges; why the Indian Navy has established a persistent footprint in India’s areas of interest, including at various choke points in the Indian Ocean; and how naval deployments also serve as a deterrent to inimical interests, clearly signalling the Navy’s reach, capability and intent.:

- PRAKASH NANDA

As the principal organisation to preserve and promote India’s maritime interests in general and in the Indo-Pacific in particular, how do you as leader of the Indian Navy view the factors of geopolitics and geoeconomics?

Threats and challenges to India’s maritime interests emanate from traditional, as well as non-traditional sources. Traditional sources are states with organised military capability and resources, which harbour adversarial posture and inimical intent towards India. Although traditional maritime security threats will remain the raison d’etre of the navy, in recent years, non-traditional security threats, viz. maritime terrorism, piracy, robbery, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, human/ arms/ drugs trafficking, etc have necessitated the development of a fresh paradigm for maritime security.

The prevailing geostrategic environment is characterised by simultaneous competition and cooperation, resulting in blurring of conventional divisions. We have monitored increased presence of Extra Regional Forces (ERFs) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This is an important development for us and the Indian Navy is closely monitoring trends and patterns of such deployments. We do engage with ERFs in the IOR from time to time and this provides an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the maritime forces.

In order to address maritime threats in the IOR, and to promote and safeguard our national maritime interests in consonance with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ – ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region’, the Indian Navy had revised its Maritime Strategy in 2015. The document provides strategic guidance for the growth, development and deployment of the navy.