Armed guards aboard Indian ships
(BRUSSELS2) India approved "guidelines" in mid-December to allow the deployment of private armed guards on board Indian merchant ships. India, which has deployed a few ships in the Gulf of Aden, in the international corridor, also wants to better coordinate its various forces (customs, coastal police, navy, etc.) along its coasts, which are also threatened by piracy. It has also set up, like the Times of India, a joint operations center (JOC) to coordinate the action of the various government agencies. Coordination was, until recently, a crucial issue for Indian forces, as a European officer told B2. And many months have been lost in an Indian system that seems quite cumbersome and bureaucratic”.