Maritime Security Is 'Dynaxic', Not Just Threat Control: Navy Chief

Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Tuesday said in this turbulent era of fluid alignments and fused challenges, maritime security can no longer be viewed through the narrow prism of threat containment.

Rather, it needs to be understood what professor Rieckmann called a "Dynaxic Challenge", a challenge that is both dynamic and complex, the Navy chief said in his address at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2025, being held here.

The Navy is hosting the three-day conclave at the Manekshaw Centre from October 28 to 30.

"Across centuries, the seas have been humanity's oldest highways -- carrying not just commerce and culture, but curiosity and courage," Admiral Tripathi said.

From shaping the fortunes of countries to scripting the future of humanity, the seas have always been the truest measure of "our shared destiny", he added.

"In this turbulent era of fluid alignments and fused challenges, maritime security can no longer be viewed through the narrow prism of threat containment," the Navy chief said.

He also said the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram hosts 15 international liaison officers (ILOs) and "our aim is to enhance the capacity of the IFC-IOR to host about 50 ILOs by 2028".

The IFC-IOR, hosted by the Indian Navy, was established by the government in 2018 to enhance collaborative maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region, in line with India's maritime vision.

To enable better correlation, compressed information cycles and timely inputs, the IFC-IOR also hosts ILOs from partner nations.

In his address, Admiral Tripathi said this diverse participation of more than 30 delegates from various countries reflects a shared belief and collective conviction that the Indo-Pacific's future must be "shaped together" through dialogue, cooperation and mutual trust.

He said three currents make the maritime domain "dynaxic", reminding that maritime security and maritime growth are not two parallel tracks, but twin propellers that "drive our collective voyage towards peace and prosperity".

First, commercial disruption. Global seaborne trade is showing signs of strain due to "conflicts, coercion or catastrophe".

According to a recent report, the global seaborne trade growth is projected to stall at 0.5 per cent in 2025 -- a sharp drop from 2.2 per cent in 2024. Such contraction does not merely indicate slowed commerce, it signals "strategic fragility", Admiral Tripathi said.

The Red Sea crisis has demonstrated how a single maritime chokepoint can ripple across global freight indices, insurance premiums and food prices, he said.

The Navy chief also emphasised "transnational turbulence", saying the seas are witnessing a "surge in activities that blur the lines between competition, crime and conflict".

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy, arms and narcotics trafficking and human smuggling have emerged as "major maritime stressors".

Rising sea levels, extreme weather and marine pollution have added new dimensions to transnational maritime challenges, threatening both lives and livelihoods, especially for Small Island Developing States, he said.

"The maritime domain thus mirrors the wider disorder of our times, demanding collective solutions that transcend jurisdictional and cartographic silos," the admiral asserted.

Also, disruptive technologies have dissolved the traditional barriers of scale and sophistication. Artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and commercial satellites are now reshaping maritime awareness and response strategies, the CNS said.

Yet, technological acceleration also brings vulnerability -- cyber intrusions, signal spoofing and persistent surveillance. In the Indian Ocean Region alone, recent IFC-IOR assessments recorded near-daily episodes of GPS jamming and electronic interference, he pointed out.

The IPRD is the apex-level flagship international outreach event of the Navy, hosted in partnership with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF). It brings together strategic leaders, policymakers, diplomats and maritime experts from across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to tackle pressing security and development issues in an integrated maritime region.

The theme of the 2025 edition is "Promoting Holistic Maritime Security and Growth: Regional Capacity-Building and Capacity Enhancement".

As the principal manifestation of India's maritime power, the Indian Navy remains at the "forefront of operationalising our national maritime vision". "Towards that, we have been spearheading multiple endeavours in concert with our friends and partners in the region," Admiral Tripathi said.

A truly holistic approach must therefore integrate deterrence, governance, law enforcement, environmental stewardship and humanitarian response into a single continuum of purpose, he said.

At the same time, the concept of holistic maritime security also recognises that challenges at sea are often local in character. Therefore, "our responses too must be context-sensitive, where one size may not fit all", the Navy chief said.

He said may the conclave "help us sail beyond the turbulence of the present, into the tranquillity of a secure and sustainable maritime future".

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)