GS Paper 3 15 marks · 250w 14 min Medium
Why is maritime security vital to protect India’s sea trade? Discuss maritime and coastal security challenges and the way forward.
Subtopic: Internal Security · maritime and coastal security
How to structure your answer
Introduction (India's maritime dependence) → why maritime security is vital for sea trade → traditional and non-traditional challenges → institutional and coastal-security gaps → way forward → Conclusion
Written within the word limit
215 words · target 250 words · 14 min
Why maritime security is vital
About 95% of India's trade by volume and 68% by value moves by sea, and over 80% of its crude oil is imported through maritime routes. A 7,500-km coastline, an Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 million sq km, and chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and Malacca make secure sea lanes indispensable for energy security, supply-chain stability and the Blue Economy.
Maritime and coastal security challenges
- Piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Aden and, recently, Houthi attacks disrupting Red Sea traffic.
- Sea-borne terrorism, exposed starkly by the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.
- Smuggling, narcotics and arms trafficking, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
- Chinese naval expansion and 'string of pearls' presence in the Indian Ocean Region.
- Institutional gaps: multiplicity of agencies (Navy, Coast Guard, marine police), porous fishing harbours and unmonitored small craft.
Way forward
- Strengthen the three-tier grid (Navy–Coast Guard–marine police) and the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence Network.
- Complete coastal surveillance radar chains, AIS transponders on all vessels and biometric fishermen ID cards.
- Deepen SAGAR and IFC-IOR maritime domain awareness and QUAD cooperation.
Conclusion
Secure seas underpin India's prosperity and its vision of a Security and Growth for All in the Region. A whole-of-government maritime strategy, backed by capacity and regional partnerships, is the surest guarantor of trade and coastal safety.
What an examiner expects to see
- 95% of India's trade by volume and ~68% by value is sea-borne; energy security depends on secure sea lanes
- Chokepoints (Hormuz, Malacca) and a 7,500-km coastline with 2-million-sq-km EEZ raise the stakes
- Traditional threats: piracy, sea-borne terrorism (26/11), Chinese naval presence in the IOR
- Non-traditional threats: smuggling, narco-trafficking, IUU fishing, gun-running
- Institutional gaps: agency multiplicity, porous fishing harbours, unmonitored small vessels
- Three-tier Navy–Coast Guard–marine police grid plus coastal radar and AIS strengthen the response
- SAGAR vision, IFC-IOR and QUAD build maritime domain awareness and regional cooperation
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks (2008) exposing coastal vulnerability
- Houthi drone/missile attacks disrupting Red Sea and Gulf of Aden shipping
- SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision, 2015
- Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), Gurugram
- Coastal Surveillance Radar chain and colour-coded three-tier coastal security grid
Terminology to weave into the answer
maritime securityBlue EconomySAGAR visioncoastal security gridsea lines of communicationIndian Ocean Region