Course for officers of friendly nations begins at naval

In a first, a special course for officers of the rank of Colonel and equivalent of maritime security agencies from friendly countries in the immediate neighbourhood today began at the Naval War College in Goa, a sign of increasing defence diplomacy.
Defence sources said the plan is to eventually have it for countries in the larger neighbourhood -- the Asia-Pacific region.
Officers from Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Maldives, Oman and Sri Lanka have arrived to attend the course. The participant from Indonesia is also likely to join by end of this week.
The eight-week Regional Maritime Security Course (RMSC) includes international relations theory, international maritime law, UNCLOS, energy and natural resources security, maritime domain awareness, Indian Ocean studies as well as a table top humanitarian assistance and disaster relief/out of area contingency exercise.

"The conduct of the maiden RMSC is considered to be a shot in the arm for naval cooperation initiatives, and would enable better understanding between regional navies at the operational level," the navy said in a statement.
The course would provide a concrete forum for developing common understanding of regional maritime security issues, disseminate Indian Navy's perspective on the subject, as well as provide an opportunity for Indian officers undergoing the Naval Higher Command Course to interact with the foreign participants, and understand the perspectives of regional navies, on issues of common concern.
Indian Navy has been providing training to naval personnel from friendly countries over the last five decades, during which it has trained more than 13,000 foreign personnel from 42 countries.

The training interactions would complement in fulfilling our national objectives of "strengthening cooperation and friendship with other countries to promote regional and global stability".