Permanent Mission of India
New York
--
UNSC High Level Debate
Agenda: Maintenance of International Peace and Security

Maritime Security: Prevention, Innovation and international cooperation
to address emerging challenges

Statement by Mr. Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West)
11 August 2025

Mr. President,

We congratulate the Republic of Panama for taking over the Presidency of the UN Security Council for this month. We would like to thank H.E. Jose Raul Mulino, President of the Republic of Panama on organizing this important debate.

Maritime security is our collective challenge and demands international collaboration.

This important discussion builds upon the debates hosted by Greece in May, and by India during our Security Council Presidency in 2021.

Given the critical importance of sea routes for global trade, energy supplies, communication cables, the traditional and non-traditional threats, and our own longstanding maritime tradition, India, as one of the world’s largest economies, has strong stakes and interest in this subject.

India’s maritime trading tradition goes back millennia. Ancient Indian port cities such as Dholavira, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Lothal were trading with distant lands via the maritime route 5,000 years ago. Indians have traded both to their east and west, with Africa, Europe and southeast Asia and beyond, across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. Cultural exchange and Diaspora travelled on the ocean waves.

Today, India with a coastline of more than 11,000 km and nearly 1,300 offshore islands and islets, has an Exclusive Economic Zone spread over nearly 2.3 million sqkm. India shares maritime boundaries with 7 nations.

There are 12 major ports, 200 smaller ports, and nearly 30 shipyards on the Indian coast continuing the longstanding shipbuilding tradition. India is also the third largest supplier of seafarers to the global maritime industry.

A large section of our population resides close to the coasts and millions of Indians derive their livelihood from the ocean economy.

The scale of maritime safety and security challenges, as also the urgent importance of economic stability and environmental sustainability concerns for India, therefore, is huge.

The twin inter-linked concerns of security and prosperity provide the basis for India’s vision for maritime security – MAHASAGAR – the Hindi word for ‘Ocean’, which was elaborated by Prime Minister Modi as - Mutual And Holistic Advancement for Security And Growth Across Regions.

India’s approach to maritime security draws upon the following five principles :

1. Removal of barriers from legitimate maritime trade

2. Peaceful settlement of disputes, as per international law

3. Jointly addressing natural disasters and threats from non-traditional actors

4. Preservation of marine environment and resources

5. Encouraging responsible maritime connectivity

Recognising the collective nature of the challenges and the required joint response, we engage with our partners, especially from global south, in several ways :

• Joint patrolling for their EEZ surveillance

• Supplementing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief measures

• Conducting search and rescue and evacuation operations in various emergencies, including oil spill and fires

• Assisting anti-drug trafficking and anti-piracy operations, where we have worked with a range of partners

• Conducting hydrographic surveys to facilitate navigation safety

The Indian Navy, in addition to its role as a net security provider, is also active in the Indo-Pacific region, assisting with security and HADR operations, and is among the first responders in that region.

India is a founding member of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), and is an observer at the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). We also engage with a range of partners at other formats such as the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC), Contact Group on Illicit Maritime Activities (CGIMA), and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Operational coordination is achieved through working groups and exercises like Coordinated Patrols (CORPATs), Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME), ASEAN-India Maritime exercises, exercise MILAN hosted by India, IONS Chiefs Conclave and exercise Malabar. India and the EU have conducted joint naval activities in the Gulf of Guinea to reinforce maritime security.

In a unique initiative an Indian Naval Ship recently served as an Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar, which sailed with nearly 50 crew from 9 partner countries from the Indian Ocean Region undertaking joint maritime security activities.

India’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) focuses on enhancing maritime domain awareness and coordination through information sharing and cooperation with partners. It has been included as a voluntary reporting centre in the Best Management Practices by the IMO. IFC-IOR hosts liaison officers from 14 partner nations.

An AI-powered digital platform called e-Samudra will be launched later this year for real-time monitoring and smarter decision-making to enable more efficient and transparent maritime governance.

Last month India launched Samudra Prachet, its indigenously built Pollution Control Vehicle highlighting our commitment to maritime environmental protection and sustainable practices.

India’s ongoing work on a Deep Ocean Mission will contribute to understanding of deep-sea ecosystems, contributing to sustainable fisheries and biodiversity conservation.

India remains committed to promoting a free, open and rules-based maritime order in accordance with principles of UNCLOS.

Genuine international cooperation is needed to meet the collective challenges to maritime security and prosperity. As a responsible maritime power, India stands ready to continue to contribute to these joint efforts.

Thank you.