Defence Minister Mr A K Antony today reviewed the coastal security apparatus at a high-level meeting in New Delhi and stressed on time-bound completion of all pending work in this direction. During the meeting, Mr Antony said that there has been coordination among the stakeholders towards coastal security. He said that actions required from other departments and coastal states needs to be monitored closely and asked the Cabinet Secretary to fix time-lines to monitor their performance.The Defence Minister said Navy and Coast Guard have been significantly strengthened and there has been an unprecedented growth in their capabilities. He said that the assets, infrastructure and manpower have grown and the two services are likely to almost double their capabilities by the end of 13th Plan.In the meeting, Mr Antony said fishermen are eyes and ears of the coastal security and hence, they need to be an integral part of planning in this regard.

He appreciated the steps taken for installation of 46 coastal static radars including 36 in mainland and 10 in island territories, saying this would go a long way in identification and monitoring of maritime traffic.

The meeting was attended by National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi, Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma and
representatives of state governments and fishery departments.