Right time to raise HQ Bengal Odisha Naval Area
By Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Veteran
The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,600,000 square kilometres. A number of large rivers flow into the Bay : the Ganges, the Padma, the Brahmaputra,the Meghana and the Irrawaddy in the North. Then Godavari, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra, Baitarni, Krishna and Kaveri from the South West. The Ganga–Brahmaputra-Barak rivers deposit nearly 1000 million tons of sediment every year.
The sediment structure which extends from Bengal to south of the Equator, is up to 16.5 kilometres thick, and contains at least 1,130 trillion tonnes of sediment, accumulated over the last 17 million years. It has buried organic carbon at a rate of nearly 1.1 trillion mol/yr since then.
The three rivers currently contribute nearly 8% of the organic hydro Carbon deposited in the world’s oceans. Due to this accumulation in the deep sea bed of the Bay of Bengal, the area is rich in oil and natural gas and gas hydrate reserves.
The Bay is centrally located in South and South East Asia in between two huge economic blocks of SAARC and ASEAN.
In the North there are major Sea Ports in Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India which support free trade among these countries and also with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
These ports also have influence on even on China’s Southern land locked provinces. Then of course there are major ports on Eastern Coast of India and Sri Lanka. Trincomalee is one of the largest natural Harbour in the World.
Cox Bazar is the longest sea beach in the world and Sunderbans, the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tigers, are located along the bay. Catamaran fishing boats of numerous fishing villages thrive along the Bay shorelines.
They catch on average two million tons of fish per year spread over 44 different species. Approximately 31% of the world’s coastal fishermen live and work on the bay.
The Bay also has abundance of natural gas especially in the areas within Bangladesh Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone. Due to this connectivity of Bay to East Asia,it has helped immensely in export of natural gas from Bangladesh to the Asia Pacific.
The natural gas had also led to some territorial dispute among India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. These disputes over exploration/ extraction of oil and gas blocks have also caused brief diplomatic spats among Myanmar, India and Bangladesh.
The dispute over maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar had resulted in military tensions in 2008 -09. The maritime dispute was settled in 2012 through the judgement of ITLOS In 2014.
The dispute between India and Bangladesh has also been settled in which the UN tribunal awarded Bangladesh 19,467 km2 of the 25,602 km2 sea area of the Bay of Bengal. There are also numerous islands in the Bay including the strategic Greater Andaman and Nicobar.
Though Only 37 of the 572 islands and islets of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are inhabited. The Cheduba group of islands, in the north-east, off the Burmese coast, are remarkable for a chain of mud volcanoes, which are occasionally active.
A few years back,Bangladesh government decided to resettle a large group of the more than 300,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar on an island called `Thengar Char` off the Noakhali district coast. These refugees are from the two main over-populated camps at Kutapalong and Nayapara in Cox`s Bazaar district.
Thengar Char island is basically a shoal that emerged from the sea only 11 years ago.Thengar Char of approximately 40 square kilometre area, which was declared a reserve forest in 2013. It is located between Sandeep and Hatia islands, 80 kms off the Noakhali district coast near the Megna river estuary abutting the Bay of Bengal.
The island can be reached only by a two-hour boat journey from the nearest Bangladesh mainland. In the diverse and dynamic coastal area where the island is situated, land erosion and subsidence are major problems, and long-term land reclamation is an essential need for viable economic activity.
This is also an area afflicted by frequent storms. Thengar Char may take 15 to 20 years at the least to become effectively habitable. The physical and environmental conditions in Thengar Char are very challenging and at present not conducive for human habitation.
Therefore it is highly possible that, after relocation in Thengar Char island, many of these refugees may try to leave the place surreptitiously for other countries like Indonesia towards the east as well as to the Indian Sundarbans in the west.
Though it will be a risky sea journey of nearly 200 kilometres to the nearest Indian coastal territory. Then there are the numerous Islands of Andamans. The Thengar Char programme is unlikely to satisfy aspirations of the Rohingya refugees in the near future.
Instead, it may turn out to be a continuous source of their discontent, and also have demographic ramifications for the Bangladeshis in that country`s coastal districts as well as in the Sundarbans area which involves both India and Bangladesh. The Government of India should not, therefore, be oblivious to such an eventuality.
China too has been making efforts to project influence into the region through tie-ups with Myanmar and Bangladesh. The United States under Biden has shown lots of interest in Bangladesh and has held major exercises with Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and India.
The largest ever Wargame in Bay of Bengal is known as Malabar Exercises with naval warships from the United States, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia taking part.
Recently there has been a news of Pakistan Navy and Bangladesh navy too holding an exercise in the Bay of Bengal !!. As it is Bangladesh has been participating in Aman series of Naval Exercises with Pakistan since 2007.
As of November 2020, The Bangladesh Navy has five Guided Missile Frigates, two patrol frigates, six Corvettes, thirty-eight minor surface combatants of various types (including patrol vessels, missile boats, and mine hunters), and thirty auxiliaries as surface assets. Submarine branch is equipped with two diesel-electric attack submarines.
The naval aviation wing operates both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The navy also maintain a special operations force named SWADS. The Special Warfare Diving and Salvage unit is an elite SF unit of the Bangladesh Navy.
They are equipped and trained on line of SEAL of USA. This 200 strong force is based in the southern port city of Chittagong and Its base is formally known as “BNS Nirvik” United States Navy instructors were instrumental in creating SWADS in late 2008 SWADS was formally created in 2009 with 150 commandos and 200 divers recruited.
On 25 November 2023, Indian Coast Guard made one of the largest drugs seizure ever as they captured a boat carrying 5500 Kilograms of methamphetamine drugs off the Andaman coast. The boat was a Myanmar’s fishing boat. It is well known that insurgents in India’s North Eastern region are supplied weapons through these waters.
The fast-changing geo-political scenario in Bangladesh due to ousting of Sheikh Hasina and the interest of both Xi Shinping and Biden shown in the affair, the significance of maritime security among the littorals of the Bay of Bengal has come to the fore.
To face the challenges of a heavily radicalized Bangladesh,apart from land borders, India needs to focus on maritime security in the Bay of Bengal, especially the security of the Coastal areas and the EEZ off West Bengal and Odisha Coast.
With geo-economic and strategic policies shifting from land to the sea, maritime domain has become quite important for all the South Asian littoral states. As a maritime nation, even Bangladesh has started looking towards the ocean-centric future.
The state of Odisha has approx 250 NM long coastline along the eastern coast adjoining the Bay of Bengal. Presently, it has three major ports namely Paradip, Dhamra and Gopalpur. A large number of locations have also been identified by the Govt of Odisha as prospective minor ports.
Paradip port is a major deep-water commercial port on the Eastern seaboard. Naval ships also frequently call on at the port. Dhamra, a new deep-water port is operational and maiden entry of naval ships in the near future is on the anvil. Only anchorage facilities are presently available at Gopalpur port.
After the 1999 super Cyclone that ravaged Odisha, a warehouse for stowage of relief material and a two room accommodation measuring around 4664 Sq Ft. was handed over to the Indian Navy at Paradip.
It is presently manned throughout the year and looks after OTR of ships / submarines as well as coordinate relief operations as on required basis. Seeing the excellent work of the Navy during super cyclone the state govt also allotted a building at Bhubaneswar for setting up of a Naval Liaison Cell.
This was inaugurated jointly by Sri Naveen Pattnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha and V Adm Vinod Pasricha PVSM, AVSM, NM the then Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command on 19 Dec 2000 and named as Naval Liaison Cell.
Since then, the office is being used as makeshift operations centre and coordinated liaison of Navy and State Govt during the numerous disaster relief and rescue operations undertaken by the navy.
A Deputy NOIC (Orissa) was appointed in the year Mar 2011 for progressing various land acquisition cases and liaison. He operates from the NLC, at Bhubaneswar. The case for setting-up of a Naval Air Enclave (NAE) at Bhubaneswar Airport has been progressed on fast track.
The Govt. has offered a land of 2.99 acres adjacent to the airport. Quite soon this Enclave will have to be upgraded to base a Short Range Maritime Recce Squadron and an UAV squadron.
The case for a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Paradip, an all weather deep-water port, for a swift response for operations in the North / North East Bay of Bengal needs to be fast tracked.
This FOB will be able to cater to the large-scale mobilisation of naval resources at short notice or in aid to civil power during Cyclones etc. A Case for positioning Sagar Prahari Bal with NOIC (ORS) for coastal security task is under process. NOIC West Bengal too will require a battalion of SPB for effective patrolling of the coastal sea off Sunderban.
The Coast line of West Bengal is approximately 158 kms long. The coastal plain of West Bengal is located in the districts of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas. The coastline of West Bengal has diverse landscape, which includes sandy beaches, mangrove forests, fertile deltas, tidal inlets, creeks, and deltaic islands. West Bengal has only two Sea Ports as such …Tajpur and Sagar and a minor one at Kulpi.
However the river ports of Kolkata and Haldia are the oldest and the busiest ports with around 50 million tons of cargo passing through annually. Sunderban delta is quite complex from security point of view.
Presently Indian Navy has five Area level Formations namely : Gujarat Naval Area, Maharashtra Naval Area, Goa Naval Area,Karnatka Naval Area and Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area.
Now time has come for raising of the sixth that is Bengal Odisha Naval Area. While the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy together with the Andaman & Nicobar Command can look after the high seas in the Bay and beyond right upto the Indo Pacific, the territorial waters, Contiguous zone and the Exclusive Economic Zone off the Coast of West Bengal and Odisha need careful and very close surveillance and more protection.
Thus there is the need to raise HQ Bengal Odisha Naval Area on priority. Paradip Port Trust has offered a land measuring 20 acres on lease basis for a term of thirty years. IHQ MoD (Navy) has sanctioned for acquisition of the same.
This has to be now a permanent acquisition. The proposed HQ West Bengal Odisha Naval Area can come up at this FOB or be located at Bhubneshwar after careful study. The Force level to be placed at this FOB will have to take into account the operational role of this new Area HQ.
So apart from whatever patrol boats / FACs are available with NOIC West Bengal and NOIC Odisha, the Area HQ will surely require OPVs, missile boats, Patrol boats, FACs and at least 4x LCUs along with a squadron of UAV and Dorniers for Surveillance.
The FOWBO( Flag Officer West Bengal Odisha ) Area will take over the responsibilities of seaward defence of the Odisha Coast and West Bengal Coast in addition to conduct / coordination of all naval operations in the territorial waters, Contiguous waters and the EEZ. NOIC ( Orissa ) and NOIC ( West Bengal ) will function under this HQ.
This HQ can also act the Naval Component of the proposed Northern Theatre whenever required. He will be responsible for Coastal Security along West Bengal- Orissa Coast in close coordination with Coast Guard, State Marine police, Customs and Fisheries departments to enhance awareness as well as coastal security.
