NSA calls for stronger maritime cooperation

Seeking to strengthen regional partnerships, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Thursday said safety, security and stability of the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean region was a collective responsibility.

Doval said this during the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) NSA-level meeting in New Delhi

Highlighting the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean, the NSA said, “The Indian Ocean is our biggest heritage. It is the engine that propels our economies.” Countries that sharing maritime geographies have a joint responsibility. “It is our responsibility to ensure the safety, security and stability of the region,” he added.

Besides member states that included the Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Seychelles attended the meet as an observer state, while Malaysia participated as a guest country.

The NSA also called for shaping an open and a rules-based maritime environment, saying, “We need to shape a favourable environment to nurture an open and inclusive maritime domain with a conformity to a rule-based order.”

In strategic circles, the words ‘a rule-based order’ is a euphemism for opposing Chinese hegemony and attempts to impede traffic at sea and in air. China in the past has also objected to the presence of warships in the open portion of the South China Sea.

The Colombo Security Conclave was established to strengthen cooperation among member states on key security issues in the Indian Ocean Region. Its founding documents were signed in Sri Lanka in August-2024.

It focuses on five pillars of cooperation -- maritime safety and security; countering terrorism and radicalisation; combating trafficking and trans-national organised crime; cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure and technology; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Bangladesh’s NSA Khalilur Rahman also attended the meeting on Thursday, marking only the second senior official from the interim government in Dhaka travelling to India since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August-2024. Earlier, Bangladesh Energy Adviser Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan attended the India Energy Week in February.

Rahman arrived a day ahead of the schedule and held a bilateral meeting with Doval on Wednesday. Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka have soured since Hasina’s ouster.

Earlier this week, former Bangladesh PM was sentenced to death for ‘crimes against humanity’ for the alleged actions of her regime to suppress student demonstrators.