Rear Admiral Ruwan Dias represents SL

Indian minister calls for mutual ties to secure Indian ocean:

Piracy and armed robbery, drugs and arms trafficking and unregulated and unreported fishing threaten short-term and long-term stability of the Asian region, India's Defence Minister A K Antony said.

Addressing the eighth Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) in New Delhi, Anthony said India strongly believes that mutual cooperation alone is the most effective way in ensuring the security and safety of oceans.

"India calls for greater regional cooperation to prevent piracy and other crimes at sea in the Indian Ocean," he said.

Representatives of 18 countries' from Asian countries including Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia participated. Sri Lanka Coastguard Director General Rear Admiral Ruwan Dias represented Sri Lanka at the meeting from October 1 to 4.

Sri Lanka Coastguard Spokesman Lt Commander Chandana Bulegoda Arachchi said HACGAM decided to cooperate and strengthen search and rescue efforts, environment protection, counter measures against massive disasters, controlling unlawful acts at seas and capacity building to support the above activities, cooperation in maritime exercises, workshops, seminars and information sharing to build a common data base that is useful for all Coastguard agencies, at the meeting.

Describing piracy and armed robberies in high seas as major threats to the stability of the Asian region, Antony said India is enhancing its capabilities to fight such threats as well as terrorism.

Stressing the need for enhancing regional cooperation, he said the Indian Navy and Coastguard regularly participate in joint exercises with many Asian nations. "It shall be our endeavor to promote such cooperative mechanisms as regional cooperation agreement for combating piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia in the future," he said.

Anthony said nations in the region can "prevent crimes at sea through an increase in information sharing, mutual training assistance and proactive interactions.''

In the recent times, he said, crimes in the seas have acquired several new dimensions.

The HACGAM is an apex level forum facilitating congregation of all major Coastguard agencies of the Asian region. This initiative was developed initially in 2004 to discuss cooperation among the member organisations to combat piracy in the region.