Vice President Keynote Talk To The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue

The Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, stated that the immense unexploited wealth in the seas creates a new frontier for contestation among global players, emphasizing the importance of a regulatory regime and its effective enforcement to limit the possibility of contesting claims to the seas and their assets. 

In his keynote talk to the 2023 edition of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue in New Delhi, the Vice President stated that India aspires to a free and peaceful rule-based Indo-Pacific region with an open and unfettered flow of lawful legitimate business. 

Shri Dhankhar emphasised the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with established international laws and conventions. He also asked to seek a just global regulatory regime that respects the right over EEZ, for the sustainable and equitable exploitation of marine resources and sea-bed in high seas. During the ceremony, the Vice President also published a book by Capt Himadri Das titled Building Partnership: India and International Cooperation for Maritime Security.

Indo-Pacific Region

• The Indo-Pacific area, which covers four continents: Asia, Africa, Australia, and America, is one of the world's most populous and economically active regions.
• It was approximately a decade ago that the world began to talk about the Indo-Pacific, and its rise has been pretty important.
• One of the reasons for the term's prevalence is an understanding that the Indian and Pacific oceans are connected strategic theatres.
• Large coasts and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) provide coastal countries a competitive advantage in exploitation of natural resources.

Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)

• The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a region that extends beyond the territorial sea. It has a maximum range of 200 nautical miles from the baseline. 
• The Exclusive Economic Zone is an area located outside of and adjacent to the territorial sea. An EEZ is a concept that was developed during the 1982 United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue

• The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue is the Indian Navy's annual high-level worldwide dialogue/conference on maritime strategy. 
• The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) is the primary organiser of the conference, as well as the Navy's primary knowledge partner for the worldwide event.
• IPRD is the Indian Navy's apex international yearly conference.
• The first IPRD idea was developed in 2018. With the exception of 2020, which was postponed due to the Covid-19, the event has been held yearly since its inception in 2018.
• The principal organiser of the event and the Navy's knowledge partner is the National Maritime Foundation (NMF).