Coastal Security Archives

Coastal Security Arrangement: A Case Study of Gujarat and Maharashtra Coasts

Lack of manpower, training, infrastructure and coordination coupled with other systemic flaws and state government’s indifference to coastal security have severely undermined the efficacy of the coastal security apparatus.

Coastal Security: The Indian Experience

This monograph aims at understanding India's approach towards coastal security as it has evolved since Independence. It describes the kinds of threats and challenges that India's coasts have been facing, or are likely to face in future. It critically analyses the various strategies and polices that the Indian government has devised over the years as a response to these threats and challenges.

India’s Maritime Security: Five Concerns

There are five fundamental deficiencies in India’s maritime security mechanism that will need to be addressed by the newly appointed National Maritime Security Coordinator (NMSC), to prevent a recurrence of a 26/11 scenario.

Anurag Bisen
May 18, 2022
Issue Brief

The Costliest Pearl: China’s Struggle for India’s Ocean by Bertil Lintner

The ‘string of pearls’ is a western narrative about China’s economic and/or military engagements with countries in the Indian Ocean littorals with a strategic outlook of encircling the Indian peninsula. Most of these engagements are established in locations overlooking the important trade Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The ‘string of pearls’ theory, enunciating an expansionist view of China in the Indian Ocean, is what makes Bertil Lintner’s book a knowledgeable read for Indo-Pacific watchers.

Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and the Australian Connection

The government needs to focus on meeting the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard’s urgent requirements for fuel so that their existing assets could be put to optimal use rather than squander funds on procuring an additional patrol boat from an Australian company.

Odisha’s Potential Role in Enhancing Security in the Bay of Bengal

A long coastline, ports, and availability of airfields all make Odisha a strategic asset that provides considerable leverage for securing India’s national interests and enhancing influence in South East Asia.

Bhabani Das
November 13, 2017
IDSA Comments

Too Early to Celebrate! The Decline of Somali Piracy off the East Coast of Africa

The pirates of Somalia constitute one one of the greatest threats to maritime security in modern time.Their operations started amidst the political instability, economic crisis and state collapse that characterised the fall of the Siad Barre regime in Somalia in 1991.

Rebuilding the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard

A scramble for assets between the years 2013 and 2015 culminated in the procurement of a fleet of vessels that have restored a degree of capability and viability to the TTCG.

Why a Central Marine Police Force is not required for Coastal Security

Raising a Central Marine Police Force and wasting resources on their training and equipment is neither necessary nor advisable given that the country already has a central organisation to protect the coast – the Indian Coast Guard.

Pushpita Das
June 21, 2016
IDSA Comments

Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation moves ahead

FIPIC-2 has added substantially to the package of projects and activities. This has now to be matched by delivery and implementation, which are challenging tasks for the Indian government.