New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) India Monday signed an ascension pact to the 30-member Trans Regional Maritime Network that will give it an access to the information on ships passing through the Indian Ocean Region.

India already has bilateral White Shipping Agreements with 36 countries.

"India today signed Ascension Agreement to the Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN). The multilat (sic) construct comprises 30 countries & is steered by Italy. Cmde KM Ramakrishnan signed the agreement at Rome in Italian Naval Hq on behalf of #IndianNavy," the Navy's spokesperson tweeted.

The pact will give India the access to information on ships which pass through the Indian Ocean region that will greatly help the security forces in keeping a tab on any suspicious activity, an official said.

The IOR is India's backyard and first respondent to any crisis situation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)