Indian Coast Guard Participates in 20th HACGAM

Context:

The Indian Coast Guard participated in the 20th Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) held in Incheon, South Korea.

• This important gathering, which took place from September 2-6, 2024, brought together coast guard agencies from across Asia to discuss crucial maritime issues and strengthen collaborative efforts.
• This is a significant move towards enhancing maritime security and cooperation in Asia

About Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM):

• The HACGAM is anannual event hosted by one of its member nations on a rotational basis
• It wasinitiated by Japanto promote cooperation among regional coastguards.
• The forum has23 member Coast Guard agencies and two associate members–

1TheRegional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) and

2The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

• It waslaunched after the capture of the pirated vessel MV Alondra Rainbow by the Indian Coast Guard in November 1999.

Objectives:

• The primary focus of the HACGAM is tofoster cooperation between the coast guards of the member Asian statesto ensure and promotesafe, secure and clean seas in the region.
• To achieve this,HACGAM comprised four working groupsthat enable a focused and goal-oriented approach towards coordinated response and synergy towards common maritime issues.
• The Indian Coast Guard chairs the search and rescue (SAR) working groupand is a proactive member of theother working groups, which include environmental protection, controlling unlawful acts at sea, and information sharing
• In 2022, the 18th editionof the meeting washosted by the ICG in New Delhi.