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India – Gandhinagar, Rs 153-crore new security system will prevent vessels from crossing into Pakistani waters Detention of Gujarat fishermen and their boats by Pakistan may soon become a thing of the past. The state government is all set to roll out a cutting edge security edifice that will not only prevent vessels from crossing into Pakistani waters, but also identify each and every fisherman on the sea.

To be jointly implemented by the State Fisheries department and the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), the Rs 153-crore vessel tracking and warning system, coupled with the biometric identification of fishermen, is expected to solve the issue of cross-border fishing and repeated detention of men and property between India and Pakistan.

Many times, owing to the lack of awareness about the International Boundary Line (IBL), but more often lured by the relatively cleaner and unexplored waters of the Indus estuarine region, Indian fishermen often sneak into Pakistani waters for their catch. Apart from creating problems for the security agencies, the regular occurrence has turned into a standing diplomatic issue between the two neighbours.

“Apart from preventing our fishermen from straying into Pakistani waters, the system will also serve the purpose of tracking of national and foreign traffic by identification of Indian nationals. It will also aid rescue at the time of distress by faster communication of the exact location,” said Gujarat Ports Secretary H K Dash.

The hi-tech system will work on a combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) creating a geo-fence – a kind of virtual fencing along the IBL between India and Pakistan.

A data centre on the shore will monitor and control the vessels using a two-way secured, non-hackable radio communication. Each boat will have an embedded digital contraption that will get activated and alarm the fishermen the moment it crosses the border.

The two-way communication will also help the vessel get back to the control tower through an SOS in case of any emergency such as capsizing or enemy attack. The control tower will then inform the nearest ship and coast guard to take necessary action.

Officials here inform that the first phase will be implemented shortly with the government having provided Rs 40 crore through the GMB and Rs 28 crore through the Fisheries department for the project. “The fishermen will need to swipe their biometric cards before leaving the shore and swipe it again on return, with the control room registering the data. So, in case of a natural disaster or accident, we would know who all are in the sea,” said Fisheries Secretary Arun Sutaria.

An earlier experiment by the government on installing the GPS devices in fishing boats failed miserably, making officials keep their fingers crossed till the final roll out. “Earlier, efforts were piecemeal and did not yield results. As 50 per cent of the costs were to be borne by the fishermen themselves, there was certain reluctance to be a part of the system. That is why we have worked on this comprehensive package that would be mandatory and free for the fishermen,” said Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries B K Raizada.

More worryingly from the security point of view, officials say they have even come across instances when the same boats that landed in Pakistani custody have been found to be plying in Indian waters without proper return, fuelling suspicion that they could be used for anti-national activities.

Interestingly, Pakistan has not returned any fishing boat back to India after 2005. The latest figures show 508 fishermen with 369 boats still in the custody of the neighbouring country. The state has close to 30,000 registered big and small fishing vessels.

Source : http://www.expressindia.com/

Malaysia – Government agencies are working feverishly to gather information on islands and marine features which could be eyed by neighbouring countries.

This comes in the wake of the International Court of Justice’s decision to award Pedra Branca to Singapore.

The court, however, handed ownership of Middle Rocks to Malaysia, while the status of South Ledge will be decided based on whose territorial waters it is in.

As the claim of ownership extends beyond islands to marine features such as reefs and even rock formations visible only during low tides, the number could exceed thousands.

A maritime expert, however, said the most urgent were about 100 islands, reefs, rocks and other marine features lying in the South China Sea, Straits of Malacca and off Sabah.

Among the claimants are China, Vietnam and Indonesia, a source said.

He said agencies were collecting data on these islands and marine features.

He added that the data collection was crucial. “If other countries start to claim our property, we will be in better position as we would have the data.”
He said some of the islands were significant while others were not.

It is learnt that the National Remote Sensing Centre had also started zooming in on some of the islands and marine features at the southern coast of the peninsula to gather information on them.”We will expedite the data gathering,” the source said.

Using satellites, the Remote Sensing agency will also collect data from Malaysia’s other coastal areas.

Foreign Ministry officials are also engaged in discussions to look into the implications of the ICJ’s decision on Pedra Branca.

These include the right of passage of Malaysian fishermen going to the waters around Middle Rocks and South Ledge.

As of now, fishermen have been advised to stay away until the government studies the implications of the decision. Top officials from the Fisheries Department have also been in meetings with officials from other agencies to discuss the implications, especially the impact on fishermen. They are looking at ways that would benefit fishermen.

However, Fish Merchant Association president Goi Hong Kee said his members were not affected by the decision as most fishermen did not go near Pedra Branca.

“Those who go there usually fish illegally and sell it to Singapore,” he said.

However, he said the association welcomed guidelines from the authorities.

Source : http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/