Professor Harsh V. Pant spoke at the seventh memorial lecture in honour of late Admiral A.K. Chatterji (Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal), who was the Chief of the Naval Staff from March 4, 1966, to February 28, 1970, at the Albert Ekka auditorium in Fort William on Friday.
Pant, vice-president, studies and foreign policy, at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, said: “With the turn of the century, the term Indo-Pacific came into relevance as it emerged as a new theatre for strategic competition, as referred to by the US, Japan and Australia.”
With the growth of China and India, strategic competition grew further in this region. Pant emphasised the need for India’s maritime capacity building.
The event, coordinated by the Naval Foundation Kolkata Chapter (NKFC), had Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal), Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief, Eastern Naval Command, as the chief guest.
Veteran officers of the three services, Sabal Naris, senior officers and representatives of academia/research foundations associated with national security issues attended the event.
Rear-Admiral Amit Bose (Vishisht Seva Medal) (Retd), president, NKFC, spoke about the primary aim of the foundation since its formation on August 27, 1989. He also highlighted the contribution made by late Admiral Chatterji in shaping the modern Indian Navy.
Floral tributes were paid and a lamp was lit before the chief guest’s address on the topic Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific: A Maritime Reawakening.
“Indo-Pacific is a superregion with a large number of strategic sub-regions. India is seen as a benign non-threatening power and, therefore, there are countries now engaging with India for what it will be tomorrow,” Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta said.
Efforts made to strengthen relations with partners in the region, by being a part of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) were discussed.
The talk was concluded by spelling out the key challenges for New Delhi as part of the Indo-Pacific. Vice-Admiral Bimalendu Guha (Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal), (retd), proposed the vote of thanks.