SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024
In a daring operation, Indian Navy elite commandos MARCOS conducted a high-stakes mission on Saturday by boarding a merchant vessel hijacked by Somali pirates in December. The vessel had since been repurposed as a mother ship for launching further hijacking attempts in the high seas.
The swift action by the Indian Navy led to the surrender of 35 pirates aboard the vessel, previously known as MV Ruen, and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members who had been held hostage.
In recent times, the Indian Navy has managed to rescue a large number of mariners from the clutches of Somali pirates, including Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Iranians.
For the last four months, the Indian Navy has been proactive in the Indian Ocean Region to protect merchant vessels against the Houthi rebels and Somali pirates.
The Navy Chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar had recently said it was the Navy’s responsibility to ensure that India’s national interests in the maritime domain are protected, preserved, promoted and pursued.
“We are the largest resident Naval power in the Indian Ocean Region and we are not going to permit anybody to disrupt the security, stability and safety in this region. We have interests in the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa and extending through the Indian Ocean to the Pacific as well. So, wherever our national interests lie, be it diaspora, exploration, search for markets, resources or energy, wherever there is a requirement to protect these interests…we are determined to ensure that we escort our merchant men and ensure the safety of seafarers,” he said.
For decades, India has focused its defence policy on its land borders with rivals Pakistan and China. Now, as its global ambitions expand, it is beginning to flex its naval power in international waters, including anti-piracy patrols to help protect ships from attacks during Israel’s war with Hamas and Somali pirates.
India sent three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft in November when Yemen-based Houthi rebels began targeting ships in solidarity with Hamas, causing disruptions in a key trading route that handles about 12% of global trade.
India is widely publicising the deployments, signalling its desire to assume a wider responsibility in maritime security to the world and its growing maritime ambitions to regional rival China.
As the security situation in the Red Sea and also in the Arabian Sea continues to be feeble, the Indian Navy’s emergence as the net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has received positive response from the international community.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received a message from US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin expressing gratitude for the Indian Navy’s significant contribution to anti-piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean region.
Bulgaria's deputy prime minister also thanked India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar for rescuing the hijacked vessel MV Ruen from pirates which had Bulgarian nationals on board.
Indian Navy has always been exemplary in its duty and in particular, has always been proactive in benign causes like Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, being the “first responder” in the IOR. The turbulence in the Middle East has allowed the Indian Navy to assert its position as the resident power and as the primary stakeholder in maritime security.
India was one of the major maritime nations in the world since time immemorial. But it had rarely acknowledged its maritime power for a long time, until the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, when the Indian Navy was actively involved in the war and the results were immediate.
But primarily, India has seen skirmishes with Pakistan and China on its land borders and hence the navy again got relegated.
However, in the past about one decade, the maritime domain has been regaining its importance in India’s strategic circles. The emergence of the geostrategic concept of the Indo-Pacific Region and China’s belligerence in India’s neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood have caused India to increase its focus on strengthening the naval arm of its military.
Indian Navy has proved to be an effective arm of Indian diplomacy to promote and deepen diplomatic relations with friendly countries. The Indian Navy in the last four decades has grown from being just a coastal navy to a formidable blue water force that expands its reach from the IOR to the western Pacific Ocean and from the Arabian Sea to the Atlantic.
Be it fighting the pirates or transporting Covid vaccines to other friendly countries, the navy has been India’s outreach arm. With India actively seeking a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, all these measures would be useful in garnering the goodwill and support required to fulfil this aspiration.
