Maritime doctrine to address instability in Indian Ocean region

Government reviewing maritime doctrine

Islamabad

Pakistan's upcoming maritime doctrine, which focuses on preserving the country's security interests in view of growing uncertainty and political instability in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), is in an advanced stage of finalisation and is being currently reviewed by the government for approval.

"The purpose of formulating the maritime doctrine of Pakistan is to provide contextual clarity to all stakeholders and observers of maritime developments in Pakistan, besides developing coherence and uniformity of thought and action within Pakistan Navy and promoting cooperation with Army, Air Force, allied navies and coalition partners," said Commander (r) Muhammad Azam Khan, senior research fellow at the Pakistan Navy War College.

Azam Khan was delivering a talk on the proposed 'Maritime Doctrine of Pakistan' at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), an Islamabad-based think tank. The talk was followed by a discussion aimed at developing an in-depth understanding of the contours of Pakistan's maritime doctrine in light of the evolving threat matrix and maritime environment in the IOR.

Azam said that the doctrine flows from the maritime, military, nuclear and naval strategies of the national security policy. He opined that with the shifting of global economic centre of gravity from the Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific, the oceans would become a medium for employment of strategic coercion and deterrence.

"With the regional environment of IOR being marred by uncertainty and political instability, Pakistan has to maintain its maritime security, be cognizant of its security interests and put forth its doctrinal assumptions based on concepts governing application of maritime forces, the command and control structures and a carefully crafted role for its naval forces," Azam said.

Nuclearisation of Indian Ocean by India, which earlier this year conducted tests of nuclear capable, submarine-based K4 Ballistic Missiles, is one of the major concerns for Pakistan. The development is expected to affect the maritime security of all the 32 Indian Ocean littoral states.

Azam explained that the matrix of conflict employed by the draft doctrine uses peace or uneasy peace at one extreme and war at the other. Besides the security element and development of better ties with allied navies, the doctrine also envisages protection of shipping and commercial interests and addressing issues like climate change and rise of sea level.

Former Naval Chief Admiral (r) Asif Sandila, who was also present, spoke about sea-blindness in Pakistan's doctrinal thinking - an inability to appreciate the central role the oceans and naval power play in securing strategic security and economic prosperity.

Sandila said the two areas that require special attention in the debate on maritime doctrine are development of an assured second-strike capability and the increasing need for delving into cooperative mechanisms as a tool for crisis management.

The executive director of CISS Ambassador (r) Ali Sarwar Naqvi stated that Pakistan is located strategically with a multidimensional naval force whose force structure makes it a reckonable power in the IOR. "The evolving strategic environment in the region requires Pakistan Navy to develop a balanced mix of capabilities to rise up to the challenge," he concluded.