Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd) today called for a Commission, Board or even Ministry to coordinate country's maritime activities. Such a body is imperative in view of the need to protect our maritime assets and interests, he said. Admiral Prakash was speaking after inaugurating the UGC Centre for Maritime Studies at Pondicherry University. <br/><br/>India's colonial past and lessons of trans-national conflicts world-wide, have consistently demonstrated that the power which dominated the seas have always won, he said. Admiral Prakash emphasised that maritime security alone can safeguard our vital economic interests and insulate the country from external interventions.<br/><br/>The concept of maritime power, actually, goes well beyond merely a fighting navy and encompasses the shipbuilding industry, the merchant fleet, the nation's port and harbour infrastructure, the fishing industry, exploitation of seabed resources, and the well-trained human resources required to man all these, he explained.