Security Alert in Arabian Sea: Indian Navy Deploys Warships

 

Image Credit: Al-Jazeera

Guided missile destroyers to ‘maintain deterrent presence’ after Israel-linked vessel hit off Indian coast.

Here are some options Laid in the article:

Geopolitical Aspect: 

• An Israel-linked tanker was attacked in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India.
• The US claims Iran launched the attack, while Iran denies involvement.
• India deployed warships to the Arabian Sea following the attack.
• This incident raises concerns about broader risks to maritime shipping amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Technical Aspect:

• The tanker MV Chem Pluto was struck by a possible drone attack on December 23rd.
• The attack caused a fire but no casualties.
• Investigation is ongoing to determine the exact nature and source of the attack.

Humanitarian perspective: 

• The attack on the tanker comes amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza.
• The Houthis have pledged to target Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with Gaza.
• These attacks pose a threat to the safety of seafarers and disrupt global trade.

Detail of News:

The Indian Navy has dispatched guided missile destroyers to the Arabian Sea after an attack on an Israel-linked chemical tanker off its coast, the Ministry of Defence said.

Deployment and Responses

Three stealth-guided destroyers were deployed “in various areas of the sea” to “maintain a deterrent presence” considering the “recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea”, the ministry said in a statement late on Monday. It was also using long-range maritime patrol aircraft for “domain awareness”, it said.

The United States claimed that the December 23 strike on MV Chem Pluto in the Indian Ocean was “fired from Iran”, an accusation that Tehran has dismissed as baseless.

The attack came as a US-led task force sought to counter similar threats to maritime shipping in the Red Sea posed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

Amid the uptick in maritime strikes, this was the first that the US has sought to directly pin on Iran. It was also the first on a vessel outside the Red Sea.

“We can see that militarisation is increasing, not only in the Red Sea, but also in the Arabian Peninsula,” said Al Jazeera’s Resul Sardar, reporting from Djibouti.

“These are the regional ramifications of the war on Gaza,” he reported on Tuesday.

The Indian Navy said it was investigating the nature of the attack on MV Chem Puto, which “anchored safely” in the financial capital, Mumbai, on Monday.

An initial assessment “pointed to a drone attack”, the ministry said. But “further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used”.

The vessel had been “cleared for further operation” by its company, according to the ministry.

Image Source: Al-Jazeera

Shipping Under Threat

MV Chem Pluto, a Japanese-owned tanker carrying 21 Indians and one Vietnamese citizen, was hit on Saturday while travelling 200 nautical miles (370km) off the coast of India, according to the Pentagon. The attack sparked a fire, which was put out, but caused no casualties.

The Houthis have pledged to target any Israel-linked vessel in the Red Sea, through which some 12 percent of all global trade passes, in solidarity with Gaza which has been bombarded by land, sea and air by the Israeli military.

Sardar said that despite the new US-led task force, there still hasn’t been an increase in ships trying to pass through the Red Sea, adding that dozens of cargo ships remain stranded in Djibouti.

Since October, the Houthis have waged attacks on more than a dozen vessels, pushing some of the world’s largest firms to abandon the route. The attack in the Indian Ocean, far away from the Red Sea, has raised concerns about even broader risks to maritime shipping amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Washington has accused Tehran of being “deeply involved” in the Houthi operations.

But Iran insists that it is not coordinating with the Houthis and plays no role in the attacks.

“The resistance [Houthis] has its own tools … and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri told the Mehr news agency on Saturday.

 (Source: Al-Jazeera)