Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today emphasised the need for the Indian Navy to be strong at sea and be ever vigilant to counter any challenges in the maritime domain. <br/><br/>Taking note of the recent developments in maritime neighbourhood, she complimented all naval personnel for securing the maritime interests of the nation. <br/><br/>In her address during the ongoing Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi, the Defence Minister said maritime interests of a nation have a vital relationship with its economic growth and these shall be protected at all costs by ensuring a strong and credible Navy.<br/><br/>She also recognized the lead taken by Indian Navy in indigenisation and self-reliance. Mrs. Sitharaman acknowledged the high operational tempo maintained by the Navy in the last one year. <br/><br/>She took note of the critical capability shortfalls that the Navy is facing in ship-borne multi-role helicopters, conventional submarines and mine counter measure vessels, which need urgent redressal to maintain the combat edge of the Navy. <br/><br/>The Minister assured the Commanders' that these issues were being given due impetus and efforts were in hand to mitigate these shortcomings at the earliest.<br/><br/>The Defence Minister further stated that MILAN 2018 at Port Blair early next year would be an excellent forum to get the littoral Navies on a common platform to discuss regional maritime issues and security challenges.<br/><br/>The four-day long Conference is in its third day of deliberations wherein the top-level leadership of Navy is reviewing major operational, training and administrative activities undertaken in the last six months. <br/><br/>The conference also reviewed Indian Navy's readiness to deploy over the entire range of missions in the maritime domain.