VASCO: The first international educational programme for naval officers from friendly foreign countries launched by the Indian Navy’s Naval War College at Goa was inaugurated on Tuesday by Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd), former chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy.
Stressing the importance of maritime security in nation-building during his inaugural address, the Admiral said that in a dynamically changing geo-political scenario, there is a need for regional navies in the Indian Ocean region to forge stronger ties and develop efficient security architecture in the maritime domain.
Naval War College at Goa is the Indian Navy’s premier institution for conduct of higher military education and is one of the three War Colleges of the Indian Armed Forces. Rear Admiral Monty Khanna Commandant welcomed the participants comprising five Navy and Coast Guard senior officers from Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman and Sri Lanka.
Aimed at strengthening bridges of friendship, and building consensus amongst regional maritime nations towards a collective approach to maritime security issues, the course curriculum covers a wide canvas. It includes subjects such as international relations theory, geo-politics of the region, concepts of maritime security and strategy to tackle emerging challenges and threats at sea, international maritime law, laws of the sea and management of ocean resources amongst others.
The programme being conducted for eight weeks has accomplished speakers and subject matter experts. In the first phase, the participants would be provided an overview on the Indian Navy including Field Research Visits to Command Headquarters in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Kochi. In the second phase, they would be integrated with the Naval Higher Command Course – the flagship programme for Indian Officers – scheduled to begin in September this year.
The course will conclude with a maritime seminar in October with participation from eminent speakers including Heads of Regional Naval War Colleges and Senior Foreign Navy Officers.
