Any joint naval mechanism proposed in the Indian Ocean region will depend on consensus among participating countries, Panaji, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said on Saturday, assuring India’s support for partner countries in capacity building efforts.
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the Goa Naval Conclave 2026, Admiral Tripathi said the first session of the conclave included discussions on enhancing cooperation among IOR countries, including the possibility of an arrangement in the form of a joint task force.
He added, “The Global Ministerial Conference depends on consensus. There must be consensus among all countries. Each of us has different capabilities, so what everyone brings to the table must be taken into account.”
Noting that the idea of close operational cooperation is well accepted, the Navy Commander said that the formats of the joint task force should be worked out collectively.
He highlighted an earlier initiative, referring to the Indian Ocean ship SAGAR, under which personnel from 10 IOR countries boarded an Indian offshore platform last year and sailed together for 41 days, making port calls across the region.
“The experience and feedback we got was very positive, including from the maritime and political leadership of various countries. Based on this, we decided to have IOS SAGAR 2.0 this year. We are setting the date,” he said.
He said initiatives such as this, where officers and sailors from IOR countries sail and work together, help build a common understanding of the marine environment.
“When they sail together and work together, the maritime environment they see – whether electronically or through their eyes – is common. Therefore, they have a common understanding, which will clearly see greater acceptance of each other’s views and enhanced interoperability between participating nations,” he added.
Regarding emerging challenges in the region, Admiral Tripathi said the vast area of the Indian Ocean – the third largest ocean in the world – makes continuous monitoring a major challenge.
He stressed the need to share information in real time, especially to address issues such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and maritime terrorism.
He added: “In many cases, especially issues such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and maritime terrorism, there must be an immediate exchange of information. This is not to say that this has not happened in the past – there are success stories where some countries have worked together and made sure that some illegal activities do not succeed.”
The Navy Commander noted that the main challenge lies in capacity limitations.
He added, “Being a responsible country, we are proud to support any activities of partner countries regarding capacity building, based on their request and discussions taking place at various levels.”
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