RELEVANCE OF OUR NAVAL FORCES

I write to share a miniscule shard of our maritime compulsions & the importance of our navy (word used generically – includes the coast guard too).  We have a navy because we have a coastline & we must use the seas to our advantage.  Any armed force is intended to give the owner the ability to use his resources for his own purposes - while preventing others from using it in ways that would be disadvantageous oneself.  The navy contributes to our maritime power which includes a lot else, of which a few aspects follow.

In its broadest sense maritime power is military, political, & economic power exerted through an ability to use the sea. It includes, but is not limited to, the need to exploit economic resources of the seas, needs of our population, ship-building & utilization capability, the size & condition of the merchant fleet, capacities of our ports and the geographic spread and technological abilities of our fleets, both civil & military. And hence, we need to have a navy to exploit our maritime ability to its fullest.

There are some interesting differences between land & sea.  While land is our natural habitat the sea is basically hostile to non-aquatic beings.  The seas need to be politically controlled as compared to the physical control which land masses demand. Controls over portions of the seas are more likely to be temporary.  States therefore seek to control the seas for a purpose & period of time – & sometimes to influence events on the land. 

There are two ways in which a naval force can affect affairs on land masses. The first is by denial, in which a nation identifies the enemy’s needs which come by sea, and then these are blocked. Since the enemy makes arrangements to stock adequate supplies of such critical resources, this can work in cases of long duration conflicts. This is why maintenance & control of the sea lanes are important for a nation.  

The second way for the navy to affect affairs is to address the land directly – either by landing forces, or by delivering the fireworks directly from the ships. Whereas an Army will mostly capture its objectives, the navy will have objectives to ‘use’ or ‘deny the use -of’.

Unlike land use which is defined by international boundaries, the oceans are an international highway where ships of all nations sail - the high seas being also known as the Great Common.   International maritime law has evolved with relatively large freedoms & very limited restrictions. there are no 'classic' lines. 

India is blessed with a coastline of more than 7.5 K Kms which has nearly 200 ports of varying capacities. It also means security challenges of varying dimensions, both from state & non-state players.  Meeting these challenges on 24 x 7 basis is a major responsibility of our navy.

More than 1000 of our merchant vessels use the seas and contribute to our trade & earnings, of which oil and petro products constitute a significant proportion. Besides this, we depend on foreign shipping for a major part of our trade. We therefore need to protect our trading capabilities, besides our ports and ships.

On the east, our trade flows to & from South East Asian and East Asian regions through the Strait of Malacca. Our Look East Policy and the location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands means our stability concerns in the region of the Strait are indeed high.   Towards our West, we have major trade interests in the Gulf region, East & South Africa.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Our EEZ with an area of more than two million Sq Kms, is rich in both living and non-living resources.  Offshore production of petroleum, minerals (Coblalt, Nickle & Copper) & live resources from the EEZ needs to be progressively increased.  There have been oil discoveries near Andaman and Nicobar Islands and exploration is being undertaken in deeper waters. With distances from deep sea sites in excess of 2K Kms it is for our navy to give us the security to sustain operations. 

As our economy grows we are making increasing investments in distant places to ensure availability of energy & mineral resources that are required to fuel this economic growth. For these, and many more reasons, security of the sea lanes, & consequently the significance of our navy must remain central to our developmental concerns.