The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative, announced by the Quad grouping

The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative, announced by the Quad grouping

Subject : IR

Section: Groupings 

Context: The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative, announced by the Quad grouping,

What is Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative:

• The Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative was announced by the Quad grouping at the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo.
• It was announced to track “dark shipping” and build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners’ waters”, integrating three critical regions in the Indo-Pacific i.e the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the IOR.
• IPMDA aims to promote a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. 
• It aims to enhance security and stability in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• It utilizes advanced technology, like the collection of radio frequency data from commercial satellites, to deliver near real-time information to partners in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region, and the Pacific regarding activities within their maritime areas.

What is the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC)

• The GMC serves as an outreach initiative by the Indian Navy, creating a multinational platform for collaboration between maritime security practitioners and academia to generate practical maritime insights.
• Previously, this biennial event was conducted in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
• The 4th edition of the GMC was held from October 29 to 31 under the auspices of the Indian Navy and in partnership with the Naval War College in Goa.
• During GMC-23, Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, hosted chiefs of navies, heads of maritime forces, and senior representatives from 12 Indian Ocean littoral countries. These countries include Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
• The theme for the 2023 GMC was “Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks.”
• In the latest Goa Maritime Conclave edition, all Members unanimously adopted the ‘Common Maritime Priorities (CMPs),‘ indicating a shared approach to finding regional solutions for regional challenges. The current edition aims to further develop these CMPs into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks.

What is Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR):

• In December 2018, India inaugurated the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram.
• This center was established to facilitate regional cooperation on various maritime security issues, including concerns related to maritime terrorism, illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing , piracy, armed robbery on the high seas, as well as human and contraband trafficking.
• The primary objective of IFC-IOR is to actively engage with partner nations and various multinational maritime organizations.
•  Its aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the maritime domain while sharing valuable information about vessels of interest. This “white shipping” information entails the exchange of advanced data regarding the identity and movements of commercial, non-military merchant vessels. In this context, “white” represents the color code used for commercial ships, while “grey” is reserved for military vessels, and illegal ships are categorized differently.
• To enable better correlation, compressed information cycles and timely inputs, the Centre also hosts International Liaison Officers (ILOs) from partner nations. The Centre hosts ILOs from 12 partner nations viz., Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States of America.
• The Centre monitors the Indian Ocean and adjoining seas to understand each region and generates various periodic reports viz., Weekly Maritime Security Updates (WMSU), Monthly Maritime Security Updates (MMSU), Half Yearly Overviews and Annual Reports.