Coast Guard Commanders Conference continued for the second day witnessing intense deliberations on wide range of Maritime issues. The Conference was inaugurated yesterday by Raksha Mantri, Nirmala Sitharaman. In her inaugural address the Raksha Mantri applauded the Indian Coast Guard’s relentless surveillance efforts in the vast maritime arena and the quick response to the natural calamity in Kerela thus being a capable force in the Indo- Pacific region.The safety and Security Scenario emerging in the region after relaxation in cabotage regulations, inland waterways necklaces and SagarMala projects were deliberated and Director General Indian Coast Guard apprised the Coast Guard Commanders that the operational philosophy will continue to be in sync with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’.
The Director General impressed upon the Commanders to take forth the Raksha Mantri’s vision of integrating the fishing community by reaching out to them through local language and engaging them to adopt the technology driven instrument for safety and security at sea.The Indian Coast Guard Commanders discussed the ever emerging challenges in the maritime domain and put forth the steps taken to mitigate these challenges. The ways and means to safeguard the operational infrastructure of the Coast Guard against cyber attack and cyber espionage was also discussed. In order to align Coast Guard to the future challenges and taking the batten further the Coast Guard Commander’s deliberated upon the use of generated data from CSN for pre-emptive measures & accident analysis. Boarding operation at sea are imperative for deterrence and are yielding positive results and hence continuance with same impetus was emphasised upon during the discussion.