Exclusive | We Track All Activities in Indian Ocean; Expect to Have 170-175 Ships by 2035: Navy Chief

Prosperity at sea is dependent upon peace, tranquillity, and the ability to use the ocean freely and openly in compliance with the rule of law, said Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar in an exclusive conversation with News18 on Wednesday.

“The Indian Ocean is a very complex area, because it is very important for almost the entire world. So much traffic goes through it. Therefore, while we are the largest resident navy in the region, we have to ensure there is peace and stability, because the oceans are the global comms,” he said.

At any point in time there are about 65-70 extra regional navies operating in the region, said Admiral Hari Kumar. “We as a resident naval power in this region keep track of all activities that are happening. There are Chinese naval ships operating…Chinese warships, Chinese research vessels and fishing boats in large numbers. And prosperity at sea is dependent upon peace, tranquillity, and ability to use the ocean freely and openly in compliance with the rule of law…That is what we try to achieve,” he said.

But this cannot be achieved alone, added the Navy Chief, maintaining that it has to be done in cooperation and collaboration.

“We have our outreach programmes. We have activities along with friendly foreign countries. We help them. We train them. We have multilateral exercises,” he said.

Speaking about the Navy’s future plans, he said the force has a capabilities development programme, which takes into consideration what are the possible challenges.

“I can tell you that we already have 43 ships under construction. Out of these, 41 are being built in Indian shipyards only. We have nearly 49 ships, the AON is being processed. And so, by about 2035, we anticipate that we will have about 170-175 ships that we will be able to meet challenges with,” he said.

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