Mission Sagar: A Positive Maritime Environment

India has been providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to nations as “its sense of obligation and historical experience require it to demonstrate empathy for the victims of disasters in all parts of the world”. While rendering assistance India respects the sovereignty of the recipient nation by following a model of “direct government to government aid. This direct assistance to the affected nation acts as a bridge to promote future bilateral dialogue between the affected and the donor nation”.This is the reason why warships of the Indian Navy (IN) are always permitted to enter ports of nations, either to evacuate people from an unstable/ conflict area, or render assistance post a natural disaster.A distinct advantage, given the prevailing Covid pandemic.

The ongoing Covid pandemic required India to evacuate its citizens from various nations by air and sea. Close on the heels of the Vande Bharat Mission (the evacuation of Indian citizens from Indian Ocean Region (IOR) island-nations), India once again deployed the IN, to provide assistance to five IOR island nations: Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.Details of Operation SAMUDRA SETHU, which was the IN’s contribution to the Vande Bharat Mission, and a brief prelude to Operation SAGAR, which is the IN’s part of Mission Sagar, was covered in the National Maritime Foundation Article, Mitigating Covid-19: The Indian Navy in the Vanguard — As Always. While Operation SAMUDRA SETHU emphasized the importance placed by India on rendering evacuation assistance to her citizens (Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), Operation SAGAR formed part of HADR missions. Both operations highlight the benign role of the IN, and provide tangible manifestation to the objectives, missions and tasks listed under this role, which is a major component of the IN’s Strategy for Shaping a Favorableand Positive Maritime Environment.This strategy is aligned with the concept of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and aims at strengthening the position of India as a net provider of security, with the IN as the principal maritime agency and first responder in the maritime domain.

Highlights of Mission Sagar:

1. INS Kesari, which was on deployment to the Indian Ocean region on ‘Mission Sagar’, returned to India on June 28, 2020 traveling over 7,500 nautical miles over 55 days.
2. Launched on 10 May 2020, Mission Sagar was India’s initiative to deliver Covid-19 related assistance to the countries in the Indian Ocean region. As part of this Mission, INS Kesari successively visited Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles to deliver assistance to our maritime neighbors in dealing with the Covid crisis. India’s humanitarian assistance included supplies of essential food items, medicines, Ayurvedic medicines and deployment of Medical Assistance Teams (MAT) to Mauritius and Comoros.
3. Mission SAGAR is a major milestone in our engagement with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region, in line with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR- Security and Growth for All in the Region’.
4. The Ministry of External Affairs deeply appreciates the assistance and solidarity of the respective host Governments of the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Madagascar, Union of the Comoros and Republic of Seychelles for their warm reception and logistical support to the Mission.

Deployment Philosophy and Assistance Rendered:

The assistance provided under Mission Sagar was based on the request of the five IOR island nations (Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros), in response to which the IN delivered food items, COVID – relevantmedicines (including HCQ tablets), special Ayurvedic medicines, and, also landed Medical Assistance Teams to support the ongoing national efforts of these nations.The IN deployed the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari, an amphibious ship (Landing Ship: Tank [Large] (LST [L]) for this mission. The choice of an LST [L], is in keeping with the IN’s operational philosophy of deploying ships best suitable for the given mission. An LST [L] has the carrying-capacity and endurance to best accomplish this mission, which required traversing the length and breadth of the South West Indian Ocean.

This deployment which is in line with India and the IN being the ‘first responder’ and providing assistance based on the request of nations can be traced to the 2004 tsunami and other such weather-induced natural disasters that have subsequently occurred in the IOR. However, this was the first time that IN ships were being deployed in response to a pandemic situation, and this required particularly careful planning and foresight.

Mission Sagar: Assistance provided to island Nations:

The key assistance provided to the island nations are as follows:

1- Maldives- 600 tonnes of food items.
2- Mauritius- COVID-19 related essential medicines, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines along with a medical assistance team.
3- Madagascar- COVID-19 related essential medicines including HCQ tablets.
4- Comoros- COVID-19 related essential medicines including HCQ and dengue fever tablets along with a medical assistance team.
5- Seychelles- COVID-19 related essential medicines.

Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, India previously sent essential medicines such as HCQ tablets to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles. In addition to this, a team of select medical personnel was also sent to the Maldives to combat with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mission Sagar: Which Ministries of India are involved?

The Mission involves two major ministries of India-- Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs – alongwith several other Government agencies

Future Operations and Preparedness:

The possibility of pandemics in the future cannot be ruled out, especially if the rate in increase of natural disasters is to be taken as a baseline. It is evident that the enormity of the scale of assistance required, as also the impact on human life, cannot be addressed by a single nation. Therefore, in the first instance, there is a need to reassess capacity and capabilities, and to progress the formulation of SOPs that would aid cooperation and enhance the ability of regional nations to address common challenges posed by weather and disease. Presently, in the context of the IOR, India, and the IN, aspects that urgently merit attention are set forth in the succeeding paragraphs.

Standard Operating Procedures:

There will be lessons to be learnt and imbibed, which will form the base for formulating a regional SOP, and nations would need to share these lessons for an effective pan-regional SOP to be formulated. It is important to note that after the 2004 tsunami, a major SOP adopted by the IN was the embarkation of pre-palleted stores (called ‘bricks’) that might be needed for HADR situations encountered by warships proceeding for deployments abroad. This SOP resulted in timely assistance being rendered by the IN to Indonesia after a major earthquake in October 2018, and to Mozambique after the cyclone-induced floods of March 2019. On both occasions, IN ships were able to leverage their pattern of mission-based deployments and render meaningful and significant assistance, almost immediately.A second important point to note is that the development of HADR Guidelines/ SOP, to be adopted by the IOR navies that are members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), are in progress. This was initiated by the IN, which chairs the HADR IONS Working Group (IWG).Formulation of ‘HADR and Pandemics’ guidelines will enable nations and their navies to cooperate together, render timely and effective assistance, and, maintain a favourable and positive maritime environment.

Capacity:

The best platforms for HADR missions are amphibious ships, as mentioned earlier. Lists the amphibious ships presently operated by the IN, which can be effectively used for HADR missions over long ranges.

Most of these ships are based at Visakhapatnam, on the eastern coast of India, for a variety of reasons, ranging from operational and training to benign. The east coast of India has seen an increase in cyclonic storms that wreak great havoc. These ships also support the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ conditions. However, there is also a need to have an increased presence on the western coast to address the growing number of HADR missions. It is noteworthy that the LST [L]s have been constructed at Indian shipyards, which provides telling evidence of the IN’s well-established claim of being a ‘Builders Navy’, and its consistent push for indigenisation. Therefore, this need to increase the capacity can be addressed by placing the procurement of four LPDs, a case languishing for a decade, on fast track.

Conclusion:

India’s position as first responder, and its credibility as net provider of security, have been established, the former more deeply. The number of HADR missions are only going to increase. India would need to take the lead to address them and ensure that the regional maritime environment remains favourable and positive, thereby ensuring a high degree of stability and security. This onus rests with the IN, India’s principal maritime agency. The IN will have to take the lead in formulating SOPs, just as it has for HADR, to address pandemic situations through the IONS route. In parallel, there is a need to increase the capacity to address HADR situations and maintain, if not increase the present ability of the IN to deploy an adequate number of ships.

Measuring the odds:

Pre Q:

Which pairs of Ministries are involved in the Mission SAGAR ?

(a) Ministry of Water Resources & Ministry of External Affairs
(b) Ministry of Water Resources & Ministry of Defence
(c) Ministry of Defence& Ministry of External Affairs
(d) None of the above

Mains Q:

What were the objectives behind constitution of Mission SAGAR ? Discuss in brief.