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The fourth edition of the Pan-India Coastal Defence Exercise Sea Vigil 2024 successfully concluded on November 21. The exercise was conducted in two phases, with Phase I extending from November 13 to 19 and Phase II conducted over a 36-hour period across all coastal states and union territories of India.
The exercise demonstrated India's unwavering commitment to strengthening its maritime security and coastal defence mechanisms, spanning the entirety of India's 11,098 km coastline and its Exclusive Economic Zone of 2.4 million square kilometres, according to an official release. Sea Vigil 24 witnessed the participation of over 21 agencies across six ministries. These included the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard, State Marine Police, Customs, BSF, CISF, Port Authorities, and Fisheries Department, among others. The two days of Phase II of the exercise witnessed extensive deployment of more than 550 surface assets from various maritime security agencies and 60 air sorties with flying time of about 200 hours along the entire coastline of the country. The Coastal Defence and Security Readiness Evaluation (CDSRE) phase of the exercise, conducted over a period of seven days prior to the commencement of the tactical phase, witnessed a comprehensive audit of over 950 critical coastal locations. The audit included Fishing Landing Centres, Lighthouses, Major and Non-Major ports, Coastal Police Stations, offshore assets, Coastal VAs/ VPs and others. Notably, for the first time, officials from the National Security Council Secretariat participated in the CDSRE activities in Gujarat and West Bengal, the release stated. Sea Vigil 24 focused on enhancing coastal defence of the country and enhancing the security of vital maritime assets such as oil rigs, single point moorings (SPMs), cable landing stations, and non-major ports and nuclear installations along the coast. This has been one of the major focus areas during this exercise, and numerous initiatives were taken towards the same. According to the release, the Indian Air Force has deployed air defence systems on offshore platforms/oil rigs to secure offshore infrastructure. Special emphasis was provided for the safety and security of merchant ships, wherein simulated hijacking, naval cooperation and guidance to shipping, and rerouting of Indian merchant vessels were undertaken. Fishing communities of all states participated actively in the exercise and were enthusiastically involved in various duties with the maritime forces. The exercise also featured an expanded community outreach program aimed at fostering grassroots awareness of maritime security in youth, especially NCC cadets, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and students of coastal areas. The initiatives were organized by the Navy to build a robust, security-conscious coastal ecosystem that would reinforce nations coastal defence. As a key component of India's Coastal Defence Architecture, Sea Vigil 24 served as a platform for evaluating inter-agency coordination and identifying gaps in India's coastal security infrastructure. The seamless collaboration between the participating agencies highlighted their readiness to counter evolving maritime threats. "Since its inception in 2018, Sea Vigil has played a pivotal role in India's coastal defence preparedness by simulating real-time scenarios; the exercise provides valuable insights into the nation's maritime defence capabilities. The lessons learnt from the exercise aid in making the coastal defence architecture more robust and resilient to the prevailing situation," the release stated. "The successful culmination of Sea Vigil 24 underscores India's steadfast resolve to safeguard its maritime borders and the Indian Navy's commitment to handle its responsibilities of 'Overall Maritime Security.' With enhanced inter-agency cooperation, robust preparedness, and active community engagement, the exercise marks another milestone in fortifying the nation's coastal defence posture against emerging security challenges," it added. (ANI)
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