Commodore's Comments: Maritime security - Incidents, implications and immediate solutions

When the nation's conscience was outraged by the tragic events of 62/11, the focus belatedly shifted to the threat to our national security from the seas, and one hoped that the "sea blindness" of our strategic thinkers would soon be a thing of the past.
And alas, while the media and the arm chair strategists alike are dissecting Mr Jaswant Singh's "India at risk", MV Seaman Guard slips in and out of India's maritime territory, sometimes with arms and sometimes without, and nobody seems to have a clue as to why she is there, but more importantly, how did she get there in the first place.
The TV channels in Chennai are working overtime finding someone with even a tenuous connection with matters maritime  -  on the last panel discussion that I was on, my co - panelists were the Secretary of the State Fishermen's Union and a retired Inspector of Police who runs a Detective Agency. The Fishermen's representative had the audacity to state that while they, the fishermen were doing their patriotic duty bey engaging in fishing, the Navy and the Coast Guard were only working for a living!
The crux of the matter is that even though the public is ill informed about maritime affairs - maritime security is well beyond their understanding - they are quick to raise questions as to whether the measures supposed to have been put in place post 26/11, like close coordination between the many agencies tasked with guarding our sea frontiers, such as the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Marine Police, and the concerned(?) bureaucratic organisations both at the Centre and State level , activation of technology driven maritime surveillance and reporting systems, 'feet on the street' measures such as OPVs, IPVs, Hover craft etc, are sufficient, whether the men needed to man them have been correctly recruited, trained, motivated,. whether the 'soft power' and the 'soft ware' required to garner, analyse and act on maritime intelligence exists etc.
And if so, how did MV Seaman Guard slip in and out?
At a slightly more enlightened level of discourse, questions are being raised about the adequacy - even existence - of legal measures to apprehend, interrogate, and take action against   perpetrators of 'maritime crime' against the state.
Meanwhile we will blunder along debating ad nauseum the hardy perennials of communalism against secularism, Nehru versus Patel, RAGA versus NAMO etc.
Mera Bharat Mahan!
Cheers,
Commodore (Retd) S Shekhar
XXII NDA
3673 Kilo