Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

Context (WION): The Indian Navy’s IFC-IOR report highlights maritime security threats from drone attacks in the Indian Ocean region.

IFC-IOR, hosted by the Indian Navy, was established by the GoI in 2018.
It is a 24/7 regional information-sharing centre.
It is established at Gurugram, Haryana, co-located with the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) which is jointly administered by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.
Objective: Strengthening maritime security in the region and beyond, by building a common coherent maritime situation picture and acting as a maritime information hub for the region.
IFC-IOR also hosts International Liaison Officers (ILOs) from partner nations, to enable better correlation, compressed information cycles and timely inputs.
Through IFC-IOR, information on “white shipping”, or commercial shipping, will be exchanged with countries in the region to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.

IMAC, set up in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is the single point centre interlinking all the coastal radar chains to generate a seamless real-time picture of India’s 7,500-km long coastline.

White Shipping information refers to the exchange of advance information on the movement of non-military merchant vessels.

It is a High-level articulation of India’s Vision for Indian Ocean.
It is in consonance with India’s ‘Act East’ policy and the nation’s diplomatic, economic and military outreach in the region.
It has interrelated elements that determine the engagement India wants in the Indian Ocean region:
1. Enhancing Capacities to safeguard Land and Maritime territories & interests.
2. Deepening Economic and Security Cooperation in Littorals.
3. Promoting collective action to deal with natural disasters and maritime threats like piracy, terrorism, and emergent non-state actors.
4. Working towards sustainable regional development through enhanced collaboration.
5. Engaging with countries beyond our shores with the aim of building greater trust and promoting respect for maritime rules, norms and peaceful resolution of disputes.

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