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Context

• The Indian Coast Guard participated in the 19th Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) at Istanbul, Türkiye.

READ ALL ABOUT INDIAN COAST GUARD: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/indian-coast-guard-47

Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM)

History

• In 1999, the number of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Southeast Asian waters rapidly increased and more brutal cases started to occur. Against such a background, Japan proposed a meeting of the maritime security authorities concerned. Accordingly, the "Regional Conference on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships" was held in Japan in 2000.
• From 2000 to 2004, Regional Senior Experts Meetings of Coast Guard Agencies on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships were held four times in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
• Subsequently, under the initiative of Japan, the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) was held in Japan in 2004 with the participation of the heads of Coast Guard agencies in the Asian region, where the globally important sea lanes such as the Straits of Malacca and Singapore lie.
• The first meeting was attended by Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Since its inception, HACGAM has been held on a regular basis within a framework that fully respects the competence and the principle of voluntary engagement of each Coast Guard agency, expanding its agenda, membership and efforts to be discussed.

Motto

• Safe, Secure and Clean Seas

Main Focus

• The HACGAM primarily focuses on fostering cooperation between the Coast Guards of the member Asian states to ensure and promote safe, secure, and clean seas in the region.

Member Organization

Participating Countries

• Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

Participating Region

• Hong Kong

Associate Member

• ReCAAP ISC

Secretariat

• The Secretariat is established by the agreement by member organizations. Secretariat functions include:
• Preparation of the agenda,
• Drafting and distribution of related documents,
• Update of the HACGAM contact list, and
• Any other administrative actions needed to hold HACGAM meetings.
• Japan Coast Guard provides the Secretariat for the HACGAM and coordinates the administration and follow up of the related activities.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Consider the following statements with reference to the Indian Coast Guard: 1.It operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs. 2.The Indian Coast Guard's motto is "वयम रक्षामः" (Vayam Rakshamah), which translates from Sanskrit as "We Protect". 3.The recommendation by the Nagchaudhuri Committee led to the setting up of the Indian Coast Guard. How many of the above are correctly matched? A) Only 1 B) Only 2 C) All 3 D) None Answer: A) Only 1 It operates under the Ministry of Defence. The recommendation by the KF Rustamji committee led to the setting up of the Indian Coast Guard.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1956064#:~:text=The%20last%20edition%20of%20the,in%20New%20Delhi%20in%202022.&text=by%20PIB%20Delhi-,Indian%20Coast%20Guard%20participated%20in%20the%2019th%20Heads%20of%20Asian,Sep%202023%20at%20Istanbul%2C%20T%C3%BCrkiye.