KARACHI: Navies today need to work side by side because contemporary maritime issues are not confined to any region, said Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif at a conference here on Saturday.

Navies of the India-Pacific region, however, are not cooperating with each other as much as they should, he suggested.

Speaking at inaugural session of the Sixth International Maritime Conference-2015, Mr Asif said: “Global maritime environment has undergone radical transformation primarily due to globalisation of world economies, advancements in transportation and communication technologies, growing competition for resources, etc. And contemporary maritime issues are not confined to any region; therefore navies from all over the world, even those of non-allies, have to work side by side.”

The willingness and ability of the countries to manage their differences could lead to safety and security of the vessels at sea, he said.

“Vigorous and effective international cooperation is necessary for the safety of the vessels at sea. But due to political and societal will, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is weak.

“There is also absence of maritime knowledge while the region lags behind in standard procedures,” he remarked.

Reading his paper on “The challenge of unresolved maritime disputes in East Asian waters”, special adviser on policy at the Maritime Forces Pacific Headquarters, Canada, Dr James A. Boutilier, said that East Asian waters were arguably unique in terms of the number and complexity of unresolved maritime disputes.

“While many nations are involved, China is at the heart of most of these disputes. The last 25 years saw them focus their attention not only on the reincorporation of Taiwan but also on the importance of sea lanes of communication and on control of vital seabed resources like oil and gas.

“This has pitted Beijing against a number of neighbouring states like Japan, Vietnam and Philippines,” he said.

On the occasion the deputy chief of staff of South Sea Fleet, PLA Navy, China, Rear Admiral Yu Manjiang, read his paper entitled “Enhance maritime security: foster a harmonious ocean together”.

“Chinese navy is focussed on enhancing interactions and cooperation with the navies of other nations in order to strengthen collective capabilities against maritime threats like terrorism, piracy and armed robbery, and natural disaster, etc,” he said.

“China believes that non-conventional security issues can be overcome by a pragmatic collaborative approach. In this regard, promotion of sustainable professional cooperation among navies, conducting of workshops and conferences, exchange of expertise and skills while having more joint exercises is essential to reach a substantial and integrated operational mechanism to maintain safety in the sea lanes and freedom and peace at oceans.”

Dr Rizwana Abbasi, a professor at the National Defence University, Islamabad, said the United States, India and China appeared to be the dominant players in the Indo-Pacific region. “We have been witnessing a visible qualitative and quantitative transformation in Indian and Chinese technological advances, doctrinal and operational expansion.

“It’s very difficult to convince India and China to make the region nuclear-free as security mechanism here poses a tough question. And Pakistan’s economy is the biggest obstacle in its keeping up with their weapons. The best strategy then would be to think of a ‘deweaponisation’ mechanism,” she said.

Former ambassador Najamuddin Shaikh said that perhaps there was more calm at sea than the speeches made at the conference predicted. “China’s expansion of navy is rather large but it has been acknowledged that China’s trade is larger and growing from what it used to be through the traditional Silk Route. This is the real future for Asia. But to prosper in trade you need harmony in the waters,” he said.

“As for the growth in arms in China and other countries in contrast to Pakistan, let’s look at the defence budgets of these countries. The US has $640 billion (budget), China has $120bn and India $40bn. Such figures suggest elements of tension. But the tensions will not be allowed to grow out of hand.

“Meanwhile, Pakistan has one-fifth or one-eighth of India’s defence budget. We cannot match bullet for bullet and tank for tank. So we need to concentrate on deterrence. We need to focus more on building our economy than on defence budgets,” he added.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Mohammad Zakaullah, Director General of the National Centre for Maritime Policy Research retired Vice Admiral Asaf Humayun, Senior Research Fellow at the International Ocean Institute, Canada, David Griffiths and Chairperson of the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs Dr Masuma Hassan also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play