Coastal Radar Network

As part of efforts to further expand the coastal radar chain network of India meant to enable real time monitoring of the high seas for threats as also expand India’s assistance for capacity building to Indian Ocean littoral states, efforts are in advanced stages to set up coastal radar stations in Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

- Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka have already been integrated into India’s coastal radar chain network.
- Similar plans are in the pipeline with Maldives and Myanmar and discussions are ongoing with Bangladesh and Thailand.
- The Indian Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) located in Gurugram, Haryana, which was set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks is the nodal agency for maritime data fusion.
- The Navy has been authorised by the government to conclude white shipping agreements with 36 countries and three multilateral constructs. So far agreements have been concluded with 22 countries and one multilateral construct.

White shipping agreement involves exchange of relevant advance information on the identity and movement of commercial non-military merchant vessels.

At the Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) which is meant to promote Maritime Domain Awareness, three more International Liaison Officers (ILO) are expected to join soon. ILOs from France, Japan and the U.S. have already joined the centre.

With over 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of daily global oil consumption passing through the region; IOR is vital to world trade and the economic prosperity of many nations.
The IOR is also a fragile environment, with threats such as maritime terrorism, piracy, human and contraband trafficking, illegal and unregulated fishing, arms running and poaching being prevalent. Hence, facilitating a conducive environment to undertake legitimate maritime activities in this region is a necessity.
The IFC-IOR was established with the vision of strengthening maritime security in the region and beyond. The IFC has been established at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, which is the single point centre linking all the coastal radar chains to generate a seamless real-time picture of the nearly 7,500-km coastline.
Through this Centre, information on “white shipping”, or commercial shipping, will be exchanged with countries in the region to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.

Functions under the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) Project. NMDA project was launched in accordance with SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).
IMAC collects shipping information, analysing traffic patterns and sharing the inputs with the user agencies.

Each littoral and island nations have their own interests and values which must be protected.
Countering maritime piracy in the region.
Mutual collaboration and exchange of information and understanding the concerns and threats.

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