Maritime Security

Maritime Security

Maritime security is one of the most important aspects of Oman-India defence and security relations and cooperation in this area has become essential for both countries in safeguarding their waterways. While being one of the original members of IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), Oman has also played a central role in Indian maritime strategy and providing berthing rights and replenishments for Indian naval ships. India has benefitted from Oman’s strategic position, with the port of Duqm being a key strategic consideration for India. The port is located on the south-eastern coast of Oman, placing it in a unique strategic position. The Indian Navy has been providing training to the personnel of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) in Oman through Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) on an annual basis. Oman is also an important member of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) which was pioneered by India as a regional initiative to discuss and deliberate upon maritime issues between the navies of the region. Omani airports constantly provide fuel and other essential services to the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy aircraft. In May 2016, India and Oman signed MoUs for cooperation in the field of maritime security and coastal security with a focus on joint training and regular interactions among its officials9 . The maritime relations took a step forward when both countries signed a Maritime Transport Agreement on December 24, 2019 during Jaishankar’s

Munu Mahawar and Said bin Hamdoon al Harthy signing the Maritime Transport Agreement, 2019

9 Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. (2016, May 22). ‘Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar visits Oman’

visit to the Sultanate. The agreement – the first of its kind with any Gulf country – enables India to expand its footprint in the western Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and East Africa10. The agreement was signed by Said bin Hamdoon al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport for Ports and Maritime Affairs and Munu Mahawar, Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Sultanate. The agreement also calls for joint projects in maritime transport, shipbuilding and ship repair, ship recycling, maritime training, Marine Information Technology applications including simulation development, port facilities and related marine activities. It also lays the foundations for cooperation in the field of maritime transport and ports in order to develop, facilitate and regulate commercial marine transport and achieve common development that serves both countries. The agreement also aims to facilitate the exchange and training of employees and students from various marine institutions, such as marine educational institutions, as well as the exchange of information necessary to accelerate and facilitate the flow of commercial goods between the two countries and encourage cooperation between commercial fleets.

The Sultanate provides continuous support to Indian naval vessels to which India attaches much importance in terms of anti-piracy operations near the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa. Regular Hydrography exchanges have resulted in the training of RNO officers in Indian Navy hydrography schools as well as a hydrographic survey of Oman by IN Survey ship.11 Exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr (Sea Breeze) is a naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) which has being conducted since 1993. The 12th edition was conducted in Mormugao Port, Goa, in January 2020. Indian naval ships INS Beas and INS Subhadra and RNOV Al Rasikh and RNOV Khassab came to Goa for the harbour phase followed by the sea phase, off the Goa coast. Similarly, exercise Al-Nagah (Success) is an army exercise conducted between India and Oman, and exercise Eastern Bridge is an exercise that is held between the Air Forces of India and Oman. In recent years, India and Oman have been cooperating in ensuring maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region. Since 2008, the Indian Navy has been supported by Oman in its anti-piracy deployments in the Gulf of Aden, and Indian naval ships are welcomed by Oman for Over Seas Deployments (OSDs) and Operational Turn Arounds (OTRs). In particular, Salalah has been the most preferred OTR destination of Indian Navy ships involved in counter-piracy patrols. This gives a unique historical continuity to the ancient links that existed when Dhofar was a bustling port having links with many Indian ports.

10 Oman News Agency, December 24, 2019. 11 https://hydrobharat.gov.in/international-co-operation/accessed 03 Nov 20

Oman and India have often celebrated their millennia-old maritime links with various projects recreating historical journeys. A joint sailing of the Royal Navy of Oman and the Indian Navy was conducted in November 2015 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Indo-Omani diplomatic ties. RNO’s sailing vessel Shabab Oman along with the Indian Navy Sail Training Ship Tarangini undertook the voyage from Muscat to Kochi, tracing the ancient trade route between India and Oman.

Oman-India joint naval sailing excercise, 2019

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said receiving the credentials of Ambassador Nirmaljeet Singh as India’s first Ambassador to the Sultanate, 1973

Picture courtesy: Indian Embassy, Muscat

Tara Chand and Neil Innes exchanging India-Oman treaty of friendship, Commerce and Navigation, 1953

© Vimal Purecha

Indira Gandhi made a transit halt at Seeb International Airport. She was received by Sayyid Thuwainy, 1976

Picture courtesy: Indian Embassy, Muscat

HH Said Shihab bin Faisal on board INS Cauvery

© Vimal Purecha

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the then Minister of Heritage and Culture, meeting E Ahamed, 2004

Picture courtesy: Indian Embassy, Muscat

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said receiving K Natwar Singh, External Affairs Minister of India, 2004 Picture courtesy: Indian Embassy, Muscat

Sushma Swararj meets Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood, 2015

Manu Mahawar meets HH Sayyed Theyazin bin Haitam bin Tarik, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, 2020

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik receiving condolences from Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minority Affairs Minister of India on the demise of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, 2020

Manu Mahawar meets HH Sayyed Assad bin Tarik, Deputy Prime Minister, 2019

Air Vice Marshal Matar bin Ali al Obaidani, Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman, receiving Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh, Chief of the Air Staff in India, 2019

Air Vice Marshal Matar bin Ali al Obaidani, Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman, receiving the IAF momento from Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, Air Force Station Jamnagar, 2017

Indian Admiral Robin Dhowan receiving Omani Rear Admiral Abdullah bin Khamis al Raisi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman, New Delhi, 2015

Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff in India, visiting the Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum, 2017