We wouldn't let any piracy happen: Navy chief Admiral Hari Kumar

NEW DELHI: Amid the recent drone attacks by suspected Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and the deployment of Pakistan vessels along the Indian coastline, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar on Thursday said that the job of the Navy is to ensure that "we protect, promote, pursue the National interest of Bharat".

"We are not going to permit any piracy to happen," the Navy chief added.

Speaking to media persons on Thursday, the chief of Naval staff said incidents of piracy in Indian waters were reduced to 'almost zero' till the end of last year.

"We are ensuring that our national interests are preserved and protected. We have our deployments. We have had ongoing operations in the Indian Ocean Region, including anti-piracy operations since 2008. If we see since 2008, we have deployed 106 ships to combat piracy. The job of the Navy is to ensure that we protect, promote, and pursue the national interests of Bharat. Till last year, piracy was reduced to almost zero. However, subsequently, we saw a resurgence. It was probably a result of the disturbance happening because of the drone attacks in the Red Sea. So we have taken action and deployed an adequate number of assets. We are not going to permit any piracy to happen. We are taking appropriate measures," he said.

He added that the Indian Navy was working with other partners in the region to keep the waters safe.

"A lot of disturbance has been happening but there has been no attack on any India-flagged merchant vessel. Last time there was a pirate attack on a ship carrying a large number of Indian crew. We responded to that immediately and deployed our troops. We are working with other partners in the region. Many partners want to ensure that the Pacific is free, open, inclusive, rules-based, safe and secure. We will collaborate with all our partners, even smaller countries in the region," the Navy chief added.

Responding to the use of Artificial Intelligence in the Defence sector, Samir V Kamat, Secretary of Department, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said they are working collaboratively with lots of academic institutions in developing AI-based techniques to detect Cyber intuitions.

"AI is a technology which has several applications. In the military and defence sector, it helps in preventive maintenance, surveillance, and cybersecurity. It is now playing an important role in offensive action. This technology is going to make a big difference in the days to come in not only improving and enhancing military services and actions but will also increase its efficiency and effectiveness," he said.

"The major threat from AI to the country is in the cyberspace. Lots of cyber attacks happen through bots that work on AI but the same AI can also be used in cyber defence. We are working collaboratively with lots of academic institutions in developing AI's AI-based techniques to detect cyber intuitions. We are working with countries which are friendly to us," he added.