Indian Navy held a high level meeting with officers from the Army and the Air Force on creating a Maritime Theatre Command to look for threats from the maritime zone. It is aiming to set up a functional joint fighting formation by the end of this year.
A high level meeting headed by Vice Admiral AB Singh was held on Thursday last week to discuss the structure of the proposed command, top government sources told India Today.
The proposed command will look after the Indian maritime zone from Andamans in the east to the Lakshadweep in west apart from maintaining strict vigil in the areas of country’s interest in the entire Indian Ocean and Pacific region.
The Indian Air Force expressed its reservations regarding the creation of these commands and the structures proposed in them. The IAF has been opposing the structures proposed in the four theatre commands planned to be set up by the Department of Military Affairs.
The meeting was part of the study and exercise by the Indian Navy to suggest the structures of Maritime Theatre Command as part of the Indian Navy’s study on the issue. All three forces have been asked to carry out studies for the creation of Theatre Commands in their respective domains.
Sources said the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army were represented by their officials deployed in the southern parts of the country. The Indian Air Force was represented by an Air Vice Marshal posted in Mumbai for coordinating the maritime air operations. "During the meeting, the Indian Air Force expressed its reservations on the structures proposed," sources said.