Article Posted on : - Nov 12, 2024

An operational demonstration by the Indian Navy that was witnessed by President Droupadi Murmu, not seen, off the coast of Goa on aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. A PTI Photo

KANNUR, KERALA (PTI): India has a highly effective mechanism for monitoring the oceans, known as maritime domain awareness, and is fully aware of "who is where and who is doing what" to ensure the country's interests are not compromised, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has said.

The Navy Chief also dismissed the dual carrier operation by China in the South China Sea as "nothing we should be concerned of ".

Addressing the media after the grand finale of THINQ 2024, a nationwide quiz competition organised by the Indian Navy on Friday evening, Tripathi also said India keeps a "close watch" on activities in its "area of interest".

He made these remarks at the Ezhimala Naval Academy here in response to a question on China's growing influence in the region through its cooperation with Sri Lanka.

"What China does in any part of the globe, let them do it. What they do in our area of interest, we are keeping a close watch. Nothing happens in our part of the world which we do not know," CNS added.

He said the Navy is keeping a very close watch in our areas so that India's national interests are not compromised in any way, anywhere.

"When their units, whether military or non-military, operate in the Indian Ocean region, we do ensure that our national interests are not compromised. We have got a fantastic organisation to keep the oceans under watch, which is maritime domain awareness, and we know exactly who is where and who is doing what," the Navy Chief said.

He said the dual carrier operation is nothing concerning India.

"We have done these dual carrier operations for many years now," he added.

Tripathi also said the Indian Navy is very proud of the two young women Naval officers who are now on a mission to circle the globe in a boat as part of the Navika Sagar Parikrama-2.

"They are reaching their first port of call in Australia on Saturday. During the voyage, they will only touch four ports across the globe. It is a very challenging journey, as they will have to face rough seas and weather. But they are well-equipped and well-trained. They already have training for 36,000 nautical miles," Tripathi said.

Talking about the initiatives like THINQ quiz competition, he said that the Navy has several such initiatives to popularise the force among the countrymen, especially youths, and educate them on what the Navy does during peace and during 'not-so-peaceful times'.

He said innovation is one of the top priorities for the Navy, and the Indian Navy always wanted to remain on top of the technology curve.

"There is a process in which we recruit our officers and cadets. We assess the suitability. I am not worried about the quality (of resources) which we are getting," he added.

He said the Navy also involved big public sector undertakings, medium, small, and micro establishments, and start-ups for technology sessions in an initiative to popularise the Navy's pursuit of technological mastery.

For the THINQ 2024 editions, as many as 12,600 schools from 3,800 cities and towns in the country participated. Sixteen teams entered the semifinals, and eight teams contested in the grand finale held here.