TOPIC: GS 2 Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Choppy waters
What is the news?
- Prime Minister of India addressed the UNSC on a debate on maritime security the first Indian premier to do
- It might have hoped to keep the focus of the discussion on building maritime ties and developing maritime infrastructure through regional cooperation initiatives.
- The discussion veered toward major nations trading on continuing strategic dissonance in this sphere.
- The loud claims and counterclaims regarding allegations of abuse of maritime resources and disrespect of territorial sovereignty rights of nations were the S., China and Russia on the other
India deserves credit for bringing to the table a fiveÂprong plan
- To enhance maritime security worldwide through cooperation
- Removing barriers to legitimate maritime trade, settling maritime disputes peacefully and based on international law,
- Jointly facing natural disasters and maritime threats created by Nonstate actors
- Preserving maritime environment and resources, and encouraging responsible maritime connectivity.
- The acceptance at the UNSC of the legislative framework for UNCLOS, the legal framework applicable to activities in the oceans, including countering illicit activities at sea, is seen as an important achievement of India’s.
- The sustained interest of India in promoting maritime security also draws from SAGAR vision plan aimed at strengthening economic and security connections with regional maritime
Strategic Barriers
- Creating momentum in achieving goals, they are associated with specific regions of maritime tension including the South China Sea and the Black Sea.
- Dangerous encounters between vessels at sea and provocative actions to advance unlawful maritime claim
- Rejecting actions that intimidate and bully other states from lawfully accessing their maritime resources, regarding the Black Sea, the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov
Way Forward
- India’s presidency of the Council is brief, its sustained commitment to promoting maritime security and boosting trade through sea routes
- It will require being in negotiating with these squabbling powers and creative in seeking resolution of the very real conflicts at the heart of their disputes.
- While some may regulation of UNCLOS as lacking teeth for enforcement, ultimately it is the only comprehensive framework of laws available to maritime powers to assert their rights consistent with the rules based international order.
- Through its UNSC presidency and beyond, New Delhi must faithfully advocate for ratification of UNCLOS by all major maritime powers, including the U.S.
Mains question
Why India must push for ratification of UNCLOS by all major maritime powers, including the U.S.?
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- The Sea of Azov
It is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded in the northwest by Ukraine, in the southeast by Russia. The Don and Kuban are the major rivers that flow into it. There is a constant outflow of water from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
The sea is considered an internal sea of Russia and Ukraine, and its use is governed by an agreement between these countries ratified in 2003. It is an internal sea with passage to the Atlantic Ocean going through the Black, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The waters of the sea have comparatively low salinity and are almost fresh in places, and also bring in huge volumes of silt and sand. Accumulation of sand and shells results in a smooth and low coastline, as well as in numerous spits and sandbanks
- National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
It is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Its head office is in New Delhi. The commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The present head is Justice R K Agrawal, former judge of the Supreme Court of India.
According to Consumer Protection Act, 1986, any person aggrieved by an order of NCDRC may prefer an appeal against such order to the Supreme Court of India within a period of 30 days. The main function of consumer court is to provide some extra privilege to the consumers and to maintain the practice by the seller or the service provider towards the consumer. Submitting complaints is very simple and a consumer has no need to hire any lawyer. Approaching a consumer court is very simple and extremely cheap as one can represent oneself without having to hire a lawyer and not required to pay any court fee but just a nominal fee
- A white paper
It is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body’s philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.
The initial term, concerning a type of government-issued document, has proliferated, taking a somewhat new meaning in business. In business, a white paper is closer to a form of marketing presentation, a tool meant to persuade customers and partners and promote a product or viewpoint. White papers are a type of grey literature. Recently Tamil Nadu publishes white paper on economy for fiscal Management
Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-healthy-white-paper-beginning/article35865380.ece
- The Kerch Strait
It  is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai in the east.
The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus. The Krasnodar Krai side of the strait contains the Taman Bay encircled by Tuzla Island and the 2003 Russian-built dam to the south and Chushka Spit to the north. Russia had started the construction of a major cargo port near Taman, the most important Russian settlement on the strait. In order to improve navigational capabilities of the Strait of Kerch, which is quite shallow in its narrowest point, the Kerch–Yenikale Canal was dredged through the strait.
PRELIMS QUESTIONS
- Consider the following statement with regard to The Sea of Azov
- It is a sea in western Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch
- The sea is considered an internal sea of Russia and Belarus
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only      (b) 2 only
(c).Both      (d). None of above
Answer : D
It is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded in the northwest by Ukraine, in the southeast by Russia. The Don and Kuban are the major rivers that flow into it. There is a constant outflow of water from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
The sea is considered an internal sea of Russia and Ukraine, and its use is governed by an agreement between these countries ratified in 2003. It is an internal sea with passage to the Atlantic Ocean going through the Black, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The waters of the sea have comparatively low salinity and are almost fresh in places, and also bring in huge volumes of silt and sand. Accumulation of sand and shells results in a smooth and low coastline, as well as in numerous spits and sandbanks
- Consider the following statement with regard to National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
- It is a quasi-judicial commission was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
- The commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the High Court of India
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only      (b) 2 only
(c).Both      (d). None of above
Answer : A
It is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Its head office is in New Delhi. The commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The present head is Justice R K Agrawal, former judge of the Supreme Court of India.
According to Consumer Protection Act, 1986, any person aggrieved by an order of NCDRC may prefer an appeal against such order to the Supreme Court of India within a period of 30 days. The main function of consumer court is to provide some extra privilege to the consumers and to maintain the practice by the seller or the service provider towards the consumer. Submitting complaints is very simple and a consumer has no need to hire any lawyer. Approaching a consumer court is very simple and extremely cheap as one can represent oneself without having to hire a lawyer and not required to pay any court fee but just a nominal fee