The Indian Navy will conduct the fourth edition of the All India Coastal Defense Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-24’ on 20 and 21 November to test the coastal security preparedness. Six ministries and 21 organizations will be involved in this. Naval officers in charge of all coastal states and Union Territories (including Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands) have been conducting the Coastal Defense and Security Readiness Evaluation (CDSRE) phase of the exercise since late October, which involves an in-depth audit. This year, along with personnel from State Marine Police, Coast Guard, Customs, Fisheries etc., officers from the National Security Council Secretariat will also be part of the Indian Navy led CDSRE teams for the first time.
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The exercise will focus on strengthening the security of coastal assets such as ports, oil rigs, single-point moorings, cable landing points and critical coastal infrastructure including coastal populations. This year, the participation of other services (Indian Army and Indian Air Force) and planned deployment of a large number of ships and aircraft has increased the pace of the exercise.
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Originally conceptualized in 2018, Sea Vigil was designed to validate and enhance measures to strengthen coastal defense following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Covering the entire 11,098 km coastline and a vast exclusive economic zone of 2.4 million sq km, the exercise will involve the entire coastal security infrastructure and all maritime stakeholders including the fishing community and coastal population together. One of the objectives of the exercise is to increase awareness among the coastal communities about maritime safety and to ensure participation of fishing communities, coastal population and students of NCC and Bharat Scouts and Guides.
