At the first edition of the Biannual Naval Commanders’ Conference 2024, defence minister Rajnath Singh commended the brave and prompt response by the Indian Navy to recent incidents and developments in West Asia and the adjoining seas.
He urged the Commanders to remain poised for operations across the spectrum of conflict and highlighted the leadership role expected of the Indian Navy towards ensuring peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region.
In addition, Singh emphasised the importance of Tri-Services Jointness and Integration to favourably shape and influence the future battle space.
The Biannual Naval Commanders’ Conference conducted from Mar 5-8, 2024, is an institutional forum that enables deliberations on important maritime security issues at the Military-Strategic level.
According to the Indian Navy, the inaugural session of the Conference was held onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. Follow-on proceedings were conducted at New Delhi, in hybrid format, on Mar 7-8. Singh presided over the inaugural session, with Chief of the Defence Staff, Defence Secretary and other senior MoD officials and Naval Commanders in attendance.
The proceedings at New Delhi included review of major operational, materiel, infrastructure, Logistics and personnel related initiatives. Besides, the senior naval leadership reviewed existing and future plans, including capability enhancements in the island territories, to mitigate contemporary and future challenges in the maritime domain.
Service Chiefs of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force also engaged with the Naval Commanders, sharing their assessment of the operating environment, outlining readiness levels to defend national interests amidst prevailing and evolving security challenges; numerous areas and domains to enhance Tri-Services synergy and cooperation.
On the side-lines of the conference, Naval Commanders also interacted with various ‘Think Tanks’ during a ‘Sagar Manthan’ event on Mar 8. The forum provided an opportunity to engage with MSMEs, innovators and Academia to deliberate ways, means and novel avenues to further Aatmanirbharta initiatives and enhance self-reliance in defence production.