Context: In a bit to further expand the coastal radar chain network meant to enable real-time monitoring of the high seas for threats as also expand India’s assistance for capacity building to Indian Ocean littoral states, efforts are in advanced stages to set up coastal radar stations in the Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh. 

Key Points

• Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka have already been integrated into the country’s coastal radar chain network. Similar plans are in the pipeline with Maldives and Myanmar and discussions are ongoing with Bangladesh and Thailand. 
• Similar proposals are being pursued with some more countries, a second source said. Two of the coastal radar stations in the Maldives were functional as of last year and work was under way on the third station.

About Coastal Radar Chain Network

• The aim is to create a network of information and maritime domain awareness in the strategic Indian Ocean Region.
• This will also help in expanding India’s assistance for capacity building to Indian Ocean littoral states.
• The assistance to these countries comes under India's programme called SAGAR - Security and Growth for All in the Region.
• Under Phase-I of the coastal radar chain network, 46 coastal radar stations have been set up across the country’s coastline.
• Under Phase-II of the project, which is currently underway, 38 static radar stations and four mobile radar stations are being set up by the Coast Guard and is in an advanced stage of completion.
• The Indian Coast Guard is a multi-mission organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at sea. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• The primary aim of surveillance radar design is to detect and track small fishing vessels for Coastal surveillance application.
• However, the radar can also be directly used for VTS (Vessel Traffic management Services) application, harbor surveillance and navigational purposes.
• It will also help in monitoring any illegal activities in the sea.
• Ultimately, the data collected would feed into the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).

Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region

• The IFC has been established at Gurugram and is collocated with the Information Management and Analysis Centre which is jointly administered by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.
• The Indian Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is the nodal agency for maritime data fusion.
• It will soon become a National Maritime Domain Awareness (NDMA) centre.
• IFC-IOR has established itself as the hub of maritime security information in the IOR through white shipping information exchange agreements with 21 countries and 20 maritime security centres.
• White shipping information refers to exchange of relevant advance information on the identity and movement of commercial non-military merchant vehicles.

Strategic Indian Ocean Region

• The Indian Ocean Region, in view of its strategic location as also being home to a vast majority of the world's population, can be considered as the economic highway that drives global commerce.
• With over 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of daily global oil consumption passing through the region; IOR is vital to world trade and the economic prosperity of many nations.
• At any given time, there are close to 12,000 ships in the Indian Ocean Region and 300 fishing vessels that need to be always monitored.
• The IOR is also a fragile environment, with threats such as maritime terrorism, piracy, human and contraband trafficking, illegal and unregulated fishing, arms running and poaching being prevalent.
• Further, there has been a steady rise in the deployment of Chinese research vessels in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Increasing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region has been a strategic concern for India.