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Why Maritime Security Must Be a National Priority?
Maritime Borders and India’s National Security Thinking
Context: India’s coastline is now officially 11,098.81 kilometres long, a significant increase from the previously accepted length of 7,561.50 km.
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- This revision follows an updated measurement methodology and change in scale — the first such reassessment since 1970.
- The sharp rise in India’s coastal length is not just a geographical update, but a strategic wake-up call underscoring the critical need to reorient India’s national security focus toward its maritime frontiers.
From Land to Sea: Rethinking India’s Security Priorities
- India’s national security doctrine has traditionally focused on threats emanating from its land borders, particularly with Pakistan and China.
- Decades of territorial conflict, along with the persistent menace of cross-border terrorism—as recently demonstrated in Pahalgam—have shaped India’s security mindset around its northern and western boundaries.
- However, India is inherently a maritime nation.
- With a coastline nearly three-fourths the length of its 15,106.7 km-long land borders, the time has come to accord equal strategic attention to maritime security.
Mumbai Attacks: A Watershed in Maritime Security
- The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, where terrorists infiltrated via the sea, exposed a glaring vulnerability in India’s coastal defenses.
- It marked a turning point in the country’s maritime security approach.
- In response, the Indian Coast Guard was integrated more closely with the Indian Navy to build a synchronised coastal security architecture.
- This development highlighted an important concept: India’s territorial and maritime security are not separate, but part of a unified national security continuum.
- As such, policies, forces, and strategies must reflect this integration.
Emerging Maritime Threats: Traditional and Non-Traditional
- India’s maritime borders face an evolving array of traditional and non-traditional threats:
- Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing
- Piracy and maritime terrorism
- Human and drug trafficking
- Smuggling of arms and contraband
- Climate change-related risks like rising sea levels and severe cyclones
- These issues not only threaten maritime commerce and sovereignty but also have national and economic security implications.
- With over 90% of India’s trade by volume and 70% by value conducted via sea routes, safeguarding maritime corridors is crucial.
Chinese Presence in the Indian Ocean: A Strategic Concern
- China’s increasing strategic and naval footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has amplified concerns.
- The presence of Chinese research and surveillance vessels near Indian waters is perceived as a precursor to future naval expansion.
- Additionally, China’s growing influence among Indian Ocean littoral states presents diplomatic and geopolitical challenges.
- This shifting power dynamic in the IOR demands that India enhance its maritime domain awareness, bolster naval capabilities, and deepen ties with regional partners through frameworks like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and QUAD.
Bridging the Land-Sea Security Divide
- The updated coastline length brings India’s maritime border within striking range of its territorial border in scale.
- This significantly narrows the once-wide gap in perception and strategic value between the two.
- India must now treat maritime defense and coastal development as core components of national security—not secondary or auxiliary priorities.
- India can no longer afford to be “sea-blind”—a term used to describe the underestimation of maritime threats in strategic thinking.
- The revised coastal measurement is a reminder of India’s vast maritime responsibilities, and an urgent call to integrate maritime security into the broader national security policy framework.
As India navigates a rapidly evolving regional and global security environment, the country must adopt a comprehensive maritime strategy that addresses both security and developmental imperatives. The recognition of India’s extended coastline is not just a cartographic change—it is a strategic pivot point that can redefine India’s role as a major maritime power in the Indo-Pacific.
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The Source’s Authority and Ownership of the Article is Claimed By THE STUDY IAS BY MANIKANT SINGH
