For the first time ever since Pakistan-based terrorists sailed unhindered to launch an attack on Mumbai last November, the Navy is to lead one of the biggest coordination exercises to fine-tune its coastal security apparatus at the ground level on the country’s western seafront facing Pakistan and the Middle East.
The Navy will take on board all agencies like the coast guard, customs and marine police for the exercise, well-placed sources in the government said while confirming the development. The latest revision of the Naval doctrine announced on August 28 expanded scope of the doctrine to include the threat from maritime terrorism to coastal security. The exercise will start after the monsoon ends.
The forthcoming exercise is a part of the new strategy by which the Navy will lay down standard operating procedure (SOP) for various areas and also detail out the response of each agency to deal with situations at short notice.
The working of the agencies for handling security would be integrated into the Navy’s pattern of working and operations, a source said.
The Navy was given full charge of coastal security on March 1 this year. It has already conducted an exercise on the eastern front for the states on the east coast during summer. “Some lessons were learnt and those will be we implemented when the exercise is done on the western seafront,” a senior official said.
The Western coast is seen as a very vulnerable zone. The entire coastline has been divided into small sectors by the Navy for its own direction-finding. A conceptualisation exercise was conducted some weeks ago on the western seafront. This time, coordination would be the focal point.
It will test the prowess of each “sector” along the coast for the availability of powered boats, man power deployment, fast attack crafts, reaction time, radar coverage, response of AIS transponders and also the efficacy of the identification system for fishing boats.
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