Increase maritime security:President

Kochi, Dec 18

The control of India depended on control of the seas and hence there is an urgent need for increased maritime security, The President, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam said here today.

Inaugurating the diamond jubilee functions of the Kerala History Association (KHA) the President said that the UN had declared a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and in a few years, 350 nautical mile legal continental shelf would be added to further raise the 
stake of the maritime territory of India. He has asked all the maritime states to be aware of their crucial role in maritime security. Kerala’s contribution, Dr Kalam said, to maritime security has been significant. Kochi had been made a major naval base and was being developed as the ‘cradle of learning’ for Naval and Coast Guard personnel.

The country was invaded in the past due to lack of awareness of its maritime vulnerabilities. Today the situation is not very different. The Indian Ocean is strategically important for sea-borne trade and access to West Asia’s energy resources, he said. “New amorphous insecurities like ‘global terrorism’ have taken root and invited the permanent militarization of the Indian Ocean and its islands with the deployment of nuclear weapons and other advanced sea borne and space technologies by US, Europe, Australia and Russia,” said the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.