Commending the brave and prompt response of the Indian Navy to recent incidents and developments in West Asia and adjoining seas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday underscored the leadership role expected of the force in ensuring peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region.

He was addressing the first edition of the four-day Biannual Naval Commanders’ Conference 2024 that concluded last evening. The conference is an institutional forum that enables deliberations on important maritime security issues at the military-strategic level.

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The minister emphasised the importance of Tri-Services jointness and Integration to favourably shape and influence the future battlespace. He exhorted the Naval Commanders to remain poised for operations across the spectrum of conflict.

The inaugural session of the Conference was held onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. Follow-on proceedings were conducted in New Delhi in hybrid format. Chief of the Defence Staff Anil Chauhan and other senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials and Naval Commanders were in attendance, the MoD said on Saturday.

The proceedings in New Delhi included a review of major operational, materiel, infrastructure, Logistics and personnel related initiatives. Besides, the senior naval leadership reviewed existing and future plans, including capability enhancements in the island territories, to mitigate contemporary and future challenges in the maritime domain.

Service chiefs of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force also engaged with the Naval Commanders, sharing their assessment of the operating environment, outlining readiness levels to defend national interests amidst prevailing and evolving security challenges; Numerous areas and domains to enhance Tri-Services synergy and cooperation.

On the sidelines of the conference, Naval Commanders also interacted with various ‘Think Tanks’ during a ‘Sagar Manthan’ event. The forum provided an opportunity to engage with MSMEs, innovators and Academia to deliberate ways, means and novel avenues to further ‘Aatmanirbharta’ initiatives and enhance self-reliance in defence production.