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Navy Journal 2019

adopt a framework would obviously encounter impediments which are unknown
and uncertain at the moment.
b. Resource Limitation. Many of the countries may not possess enough
resources to physically contribute in the MSAR. Therefore, all the countries may
not be able to contribute equally upon a MSAR situation. This phenomenon may
hinder spontaneous participation by some of the countries. However, it is
required to be sorted out what are the national power possessed by each one of
them for contribution into such SAR situation.
c. Geographic Spacing. IONS countries are very widely spread in the Indian
Ocean which stretches for about 7,500 x 4,200 nautical miles. Responding to a
MSAR at a place within this area may not be reached by some/many of the
countries easily. At the same time, participation of all the countries may not be
required also for a prolong sustainable SAR. This may demand a comprehensive
command and control structure.
d. Conflict with Existing SAR Org. The present org of MSAR around the world
works under IMO through Regional Coordination Center (RCCs). However, it
does not consider IONS entity yet.Therefore, the new concept of MSAR adopted
by IONS countries may arise conflict of responsibility within a particular region.

e. Testifying the Suggested Framework. The suggested framework for the
MSAR in the Indian ocean needs to be testified every after certain interval.
Otherwise, the efficacy of the framework would remain ambiguous and
unreliable. This will remain as a challenge to conduct MSAR exercise every after
certain interval mainly because of huge geographic spacing amongst the IONS
countries.

A Suggested Framework to Address the Issues
A suggested framework for a multilateral collaborative MSAR should be able to
address all the hindrances mentioned in the previous segment. Following are the
attributes of a suggested framework:

a. Adoption of a MSAR Framework for IONS. Despite several impediments,
it would be the sole responsibility of each individual country to adopt the MSAR
framework. As it will be seen later, such adoption will certainly benefit each of
the nations in terms of economic development, social wellbeing and strategic

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