Chapter 5 · Topic 5.2 · Prelims + Mains2 of 2
Border Management: Maritime security
Key points
- Ladakh became a UT without a legislature in 2019; locals demand Sixth Schedule status and job safeguards.
- Deny militants local support with jobs, services, respect and local recruitment; counter drones with jammers and CIBMS.
- About 95% of India's trade by volume goes by sea; coastal security is three-tier (Navy, Coast Guard, marine police); IFC-IOR set up in 2018.
3 PYQs 2015–2025
Prelims box: facts and traps
- Ladakh: Union Territory without a legislature since 2019.
- Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region: 2018, Gurugram-based hub for maritime data.
- Piracy high-risk area line moved from 65°E to 78°E in 2012, moved back in 2015.
- Trap: sovereignty covers airspace (Chicago Convention, 1944) but not outer space.
Border people, Ladakh and drones
Mains 2026 said Ladakh is strategically located between China and Pakistan and asked about border area development, Army civic action and the demand for the Sixth Schedule. The Sixth Schedule gives tribal areas their own councils that make rules on land and customs.
- Status: Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019.
- Development: roads, tunnels, Vibrant Villages and BADP works. The Army runs Sadbhavana schools and medical camps.
- Demands: local bodies have sought Sixth Schedule status, statehood and job safeguards to protect land, culture and fragile ecology. Protests turned violent in Leh in 2025.
Ladakh is strategically located between China and Pakistan. As a measure to win hearts and minds of locals, discuss the Border Area Development Programmes (BADP) by the Central Government and civic actions by the Army. Also discuss demand of promulgation of provision of the Sixth Schedule of constitution for Ladakh.
Mains 2020 asked: For effective border area management, discuss the steps required to be taken to deny local support to militants. Steps: jobs and services in border villages, village defence groups, respectful conduct by forces, quick grievance redress and local recruitment into forces. A village that feels cared for becomes the army’s eyes and ears.
Mains 2023 said the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), meaning drones, by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a serious threat. Measures: anti-drone jammers and detectors, the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System, drone rules and village informer networks.
For effective border area management, discuss the steps required to be taken to deny local support to militants and also suggest ways to manage favourable perception among locals.
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a serious threat to the internal security. Comment on the measures being taken to tackle this threat.
What UPSC asks: Ladakh UT 2019, anti-drone systems.
Coastal and maritime security
Mains 2025 asked: Why is maritime security vital to protect India’s sea trade? About 95% of trade by volume moves by sea, and energy imports depend on safe sea lanes, the ocean highways ships use. Challenges: piracy, terror from the sea (Mumbai 2008), smuggling, illegal fishing, Chinese naval presence and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Mains 2022 asked about the organisational, technical and procedural initiatives: a three-tier coastal guard (Navy, Coast Guard, marine police), coastal radar chain, the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (2018), which shares ship-tracking data with partner navies, fishing boat identity and drills such as Sea Vigil.
Why is maritime security vital to protect India’s sea trade? Discuss maritime and coastal security challenges and the way forward.
What are the maritime security challenges in India? Discuss the organisational, technical and procedural initiatives taken to improve the maritime security.
Mains 2014 noted that in 2012, the longitudinal marking for high-risk areas for piracy was moved from 65 degrees east to 78 degrees east in the Arabian Sea. This put India’s west coast inside the piracy high-risk area, raising insurance costs and placing armed guards on ships near Indian waters (as in the 2012 Enrica Lexie case). After India pressed the matter, the line was moved back in 2015.
In 2012, the longitudinal marking for high-risk areas for piracy was moved from 65 degrees east to 78 degrees east in the Arabian Sea by the International Maritime Organization. What impact does this have on India’s maritime security concerns?
Mains 2014 noted that international civil aviation laws provide all countries complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territory. Airspace is the air above a country’s land and territorial waters (Chicago Convention, 1944). Outer space is free for all, so there is no legal limit on satellites passing over. Challenges: spy satellites, high-altitude balloons and drones. Answers: space situational awareness and air defence.
International civil aviation laws provide all countries complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territory. What do you understand by ‘airspace’? What are the implications of these laws on the space above this airspace? Discuss the challenges which this poses and suggest ways to contain the threat.
What UPSC asks: three-tier guard, IFC-IOR 2018.
Mains box: analysis and answer points
- Ladakh (Mains 2026): strategic location, development, Army civic action, Sixth Schedule demand.
- Deny local support (Mains 2020) and drones (Mains 2023): people-centric steps plus technology.
- Maritime security (Mains 2025, 2022): 95% of trade by sea; three-tier guard, radar chain, IFC-IOR, Sea Vigil.
Practice
Prelims PYQs on this topic (2)
With reference to the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership’, consider the following statements :
- 1. It is an agreement among all the Pacific Rim countries except China and Russia.
- 2. It is a strategic alliance for the purpose of maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (signed 2016) had only 12 Pacific Rim economies, not all of them except China and Russia; countries such as South Korea and Indonesia were outside it. Statement 2 is wrong: the TPP was a trade and investment agreement, not a maritime security alliance.
The US withdrew in 2017, and the remaining 11 signed the CPTPP in 2018. The UK joined in 2024. China has applied to join. Notice how the TPP contrasts with RCEP, a separate Asia-Pacific trade bloc that India chose to leave in 2019.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)’, consider the following statements :
- 1. It was established very recently in response to incidents of piracy and accidents of oil spills.
- 2. It is an alliance meant for maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). IORA, founded in 1997 in Mauritius and renamed in 2013, is not a recent body formed in response to piracy or oil spills, so statement 1 is wrong. It is a regional forum for economic and trade cooperation, covering trade, fisheries, tourism, the blue economy and disaster management, as well as maritime safety, so it is not a security-only alliance.
Its secretariat is in Mauritius, and India is a founding member that chaired it in 2011–13 and again from 2025. Notice how the Indian Ocean links India's trade, energy imports and the SAGAR vision.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Mains PYQs on this topic (1)
Write an answer
In 150 words, explain the significance of Border Management with one recent example.
Flashcards (7)
Ladakh became UT?
2019.
IFC-IOR set up?
2018, Gurugram.
Coastal security tiers?
Navy, Coast Guard, marine police.
Piracy line moved in 2012 to?
78 degrees east.
Piracy line moved back?
2015.
Airspace treaty?
Chicago Convention, 1944.
Share of trade by sea (volume)?
About 95%.
Read more: related explainers
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