BIMSTEC security chiefs vow to jointly combat terror, streamline maritime law enforcement

📌 Summary:

• National security chiefs of BIMSTEC countries met in New Delhi (5th BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs' Meeting), hosted by NSA Ajit Doval, and vowed to jointly combat regional security challenges
• They adopted guidelines for the maritime component of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to enable faster relief operations, and endorsed guiding principles on the conduct of maritime law-enforcement agencies at sea (to increase predictability and safety)
• Focus areas: terrorism and organised crime; security in the cyber, maritime and energy domains; connectivity; disaster management; and new/emerging threats
• Doval framed cooperation against a backdrop of conflicts, geopolitical uncertainties, technological disruption and supply-chain disruptions, urging "decisive actions" for mutual benefit
• Strategic weight: BIMSTEC bridges South and Southeast Asia across the Bay of Bengal, ~1.7 billion people (~22% of global population) and a combined GDP of nearly $5 trillion; the grouping turns 30 next year

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (regional groupings, India's Neighbourhood First and Act East convergence) and GS3 (maritime security, HADR, counter-terrorism cooperation in the Indian Ocean).

📝 Prelims Facts:

• BIMSTEC = Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation; 7 members: India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan
• Meeting hosted by NSA Ajit Doval in New Delhi; grouping represents ~22% of world population and ~$5 trillion combined GDP
• BIMSTEC marks its 30th anniversary next year (founded 1997)

🔑 Key Term: HADR — Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, a key pillar of maritime security cooperation.