Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

Context

Quad nations — Australia, India, Japan and the United States,  are reported to be getting ready to unveil a maritime surveillance initiative to protect exclusive economic zones in the Indo-Pacific against environmental damage.

• The aim is to push back especially against massive and reckless deep water fishing by Chinese trawlers in the region.

About the maritime surveillance initiative

• It will bring together existing surveillance centres in Singapore, India, and the Pacific to create a tracking system for illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF) in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • The IOR is vital to world trade and economic prosperity of many nations.
  • More than 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of global oil consumption passes through the IOR.
  • However, maritime terrorism, piracy, trafficking, IUUF, arms running and poaching pose myriad challenges to maritime safety and security in the region.
    

Need for collaborative effort

• Chinese trawler fleets are seen as responsible for most of the IUUF in the Indo-Pacific region, and the initiative is likely to be viewed as a Quad pressure point against China.
• In recent years, IUUF has been seen as growing into a bigger threat to maritime states than international piracy.
• Unregulated and unreported fishing are bigger challenges than illegal fishing, as they deplete stocks and deprive vulnerable regional economies of an important food source.
• China is the world’s biggest offender in this regard, and is believed to be responsible for 80% to 95% of the illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific.
• The scale, scope and the multi-national nature of maritime activities, make it difficult for countries to address these challenges individually.
• Hence, collaborative efforts between maritime nations in the IOR, is essential.

About IFC-IOR

• In December 2018, Indian launched the IFC-IOR, at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram.
• It presently has linkages with more than 50 partner countries and multi-national agencies across the globe.
• It was established for regional collaboration on maritime security issues. This includes:
  • Maritime terrorism, illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF), piracy, armed robbery on the high seas, and human and contraband trafficking.
• The centre was established as part of the government’s SAGAR (Security and Growth For All in the Region) framework for maritime co-operation in the Indian Ocean region.
• It hosts international liaison officers from partner countries, which include both India’s immediate neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and from further afield.
• So far, this fusion centre has information sharing links with 50 nations and multinational/maritime centres.