Defence Minister Inaugurates Information Fusion Centre at IMAC
Sitharaman invited partner nations to work together to improve maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region
The defence minister on 22 December 2018 inaugurated the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IOR) at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram. The IFC-IOR will serve as the hub of information sharing and analysis with a number of countries who have white shipping information exchange agreements with India.
Established at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, which is the hub of all the coastal radar chains, creating a seamless picture of India’s vast coastline, the IFC underlines India’s status as the ‘net security provider’ bringing together nations to safeguard the Indian Ocean Region.
Addressing the gathering, Chief of Naval Staff, Adm. Sunil Lanba said, “In consonance with the hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR, which stands for ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region’, a multitude of projects aimed at the ‘common good’ of the region have achieved realisation.” He said the IFC-IOR had the potential to play the role of a vital hub of maritime security related information fusion and exchange.
“The IFC-IOR shall be a collaborative construct that will work with partners; countries as well as international agencies; to enhance maritime security and safety. We also aim to work closely with the multinational constructs and other information fusion centres,” he added.
The Indian Ocean Region is vital to world trade and economic prosperity of many nations as more than 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of global oil consumption passes through the IOR. However, maritime terrorism, piracy, human and contraband trafficking, illegal and unregulated fishing, arms running and poaching pose myriad challenges to maritime safety and security in the region. Response to these challenges requires enhanced situational awareness of the maritime activities in the region so as to enable security agencies function effectively.
The defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, inaugurating the facility, said that the objective of having an IFC-IOR is more for partners, equals to work towards keeping the global commons safe and democratically available for all of us. In addition to utilising our collective wisdom and resources towards addressing the myriad challenges in our region, the IFC-IOR will help us interface and integrate, wherein, we would benefit from each other’s best practices and expertise, she said.
“More significantly, the IFC-IOR will help foster bonds of trust, camaraderie and partnership; ingredients that are vital for relationships between nations to transcend from being merely transactional to ones that are transformational,” she added.
Urging the partner nations to work together, she emphasised on working together as commons, stating that the only way to address these vast challenges was through collaborative and cooperative efforts, of which IFC is a shining example.
The information exchange at the IFC-IOR would be initially undertaken by virtual means, using telephone calls, faxes, emails and video conferencing over internet. Subsequently, to enable better interaction, quicker analysis of information and provide timely inputs, the IFC-IOR would host liaison officers from partner countries. Additionally, towards enhancing capability building, the IFC-IOR would undertake conduct of exercises and training capsules in maritime information collation and sharing.