Ifr at vizag not just show of prowess but to be a milestone in securing india's and global trade

Talk about India alone and 70 per cent by value and 90 per cent by volume of country's international trade moves by sea. In February, 2016, as the much-talked-about International Fleet

Review (IFR) takes off, more than 50 Navies from across the globe will enter Indian waters on the Eastern seabed at Vishakapatnam where they will join hands with the Indian Navy over a

five-day long display of prowess and maritime capabilities. However, IFR-2016, a curtain raiser of which was showcased by host India here on Wednesday, has a large purely economics angle to

it. Besides being one of the most pompous naval displays in the world, the economic utility of the event positively affects over Rs 23000 crores of global shipping business every year. This

business is carried via waters adjoining India (right from Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea) and leading up to the Gulf of Aden via Maldives and Seychelles – an area heavily struck by

pirates. "The upcoming IFR would lead to a great confidence of mutual cooperation and interoperability among us and other navies. It will help keep the global commons safe and secure

and thus, practially create an environment of increased maritime security. I see this closely related to India's huge international trade carried out through sea as also the trade

involving other nations that flows close to our maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal, The Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea," Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan told dna on the sidelines of

IFR-2016 curtain raiser event. Talk about India alone and 70 per cent by value and 90 per cent by volume of country's international trade moves by sea. Dhowan said that "When all

the important navies join hands and coordinate, the global commons that international waters are, can be secured. I look at IFR 2016 at Vishakapatnam as a milestone in that direction".

Notably, more than 50 warships of the Indian Navy took around four years beginning 2008 to ensure safety from pirates operating between African and Indian waters. For this very reason, until

October 8, in fact, Indian waters were tagged High Risk Area (HRA), as close as up to 78 degrees East latitude leading to shooting of insurance and fuel costs apart from considerable money

spent by merchant ships on private security. That HRA has now been pushed further west by the Indian Navy to 65 degrees East longitude, a fact officially accepted by the global community

represented in this case by the European Union Chair of the Contact Group of Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. Seventeen neighboring navies, including that of China, Japan, Sri Lanka,

Australia and Bangladesh will participate at 2016 IFR. Among others who have confirmed to come include the USA, Russia and Israel. Pakistan, however, hasn't responded positively to the

invitation so far.