After the Mumbai attacks exposed chinks in the country's coastal security shield, Naval commanders will for the first time meet at Visakhapatnam.
After the Mumbai attacks exposed chinks in the country's coastal security shield, Naval commanders will for the first time meet at Visakhapatnam on Monday to review recent measures put in place by the government to prevent recurrence of any such terror strikes.
Though the Naval commanders' conference is a bi-annual affair, the present meeting at the Eastern Naval Command assumes significance as the government had in February this year appointed the Navy as the overall head of the maritime security apparatus.
The conference will discuss "the Mumbai terror attacks and its fallout, apart from reviewing the progress made in setting up the security net desired by the government and planning for the future," a Navy officer said here on Sunday.
Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta will chair the meeting in which the force's acquisition plans would also be discussed.
The plans include both the short-term, fast-track acquisitions such as fast patrol craft approved soon after the Mumbai attacks, and the long-terms plans for acquiring large warships such as destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines and aircraft carriers.
On February 28, the government had entrusted various agencies, including the Coast Guard, Shipping and Petroleum ministries, with the responsibility of coordinating the task of securing the 7,500-km-long coastline, and also the innumerable ports and offshore installations of oil companies.
Apart from providing the Navy with a 1,000-man 'Sagar Prahari Bal' for securing its installations, it also set up joint operations centres in four corners of the country and intelligence sharing system for the coastal security agencies, including the coastal police, customs and coast guard.
The government had also promised to increase the number of ships, aircraft, helicopters, bases and manpower for both the Navy and the Coast Guard.
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