US navy conducts operation near Lakshadweep without India’s consent, India Navy Must Exercise Off Chagos Archipelago
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar
The Americans have either gone wonky or inadvertently shown their true colours. This week the US Navy has conducted a naval exercise near Lakshadweep around 130 Km off but well within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Such naval drills have taken place earlier too but this time it has been an unusual move because, it has taken place without first seeking permission from India. Added to the deliberate action of the USN has been its official declaration of the exercise as “freedom of navigation patrols” in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near Lakshadweep.
The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said in an official statement that its Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones asserted its navigational rights and freedoms around 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, without requesting India’s prior consent on April 7. This, it added, was “consistent with international law”.
We Indians must member that it is that same formation the 7th Fleet, part of which Nixon had sent in 1971 to coerce Shrimati Indira Gandhi, during the ongoing war to create Bangladesh.
That this is a very deliberate US action is clear from their cocky statement “ India requires prior consent for military exercises or maneuvers in its EEZ or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims,” said the US Navy’s statement.
This is a very clear lie on part of the United States of America. No prior consent is required for any passage by merchant mariners nor by naval ships as long it is an innocent passage. However Indian law in line with UN laws clearly states that consent is required for military exercises or maneuvers. This country, the USA which claims itself to be the biggest democracy by geographical size, has till date not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while India had done it in 1995 itself. Also it keeps brandishing its Internal laws like CAATSA as “International “ laws.
So US Navy by carrying out such operations have clearly violated international law and have demonstrated their arrogance. Their arrogance can be further measured by their following statement “We conduct routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to in the future. FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements.”
The US Navy while violating all international rules has gone ahead and lied by stating “US forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis. All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the US will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”
EEZs are certainly international waters where shipping cannot be impeded but certain conventions have to be followed. The US Navy does undertake patrols in EEZs of different countries but this time has deliberately offend India and made such a provocative statement against India, this is highly unusual.
Indian warships in the past have chased away, after giving suitable warning, Chinese research vessels entering the Indian EEZ and engaging in “suspicious military activity”. Indian domestic laws hold that any country carrying out military activity in its EEZ must provide prior notification. While a country has full sovereignty over territorial waters, which end at 12 nautical miles from the coast, it only has certain special rights in exploration of marine resources in its EEZ, which stretch to 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
So may be presently we are not in a position to chase away the US navy and will make no such attempts unless they try and enter our territorial waters. However like the 1971 USS ENTERPRISE incident, thus incident should get properly documented and filed with HQ IDS and Naval HQ.
However India must reciprocate in kind. We must take the following actions :
- Lodge no formal protest against the US action just ignore it
- Immediately within this month, conduct a naval exercise off Chagos Archipelago
- Immediately give a call for early return of entire Chagos Archipelago to Seychelles including Diego Garcia island and keep repeating it
- Show total coolness towards QUAD Concept henceforth
- With immediate effect cease all bilateral or multilateral naval exercises with US Navy, may increase it with Japanese Navy
- No formal visits to or from US Pacific or US Central Commands
- Go for formal naval exercise with Russia more frequently
- Go for formal exercise with Iran
- Go ballistic on operationalization and commercialization of Chahbahar Port
- Plan for at least 8x destroyers, in addition to VISHAKHAPATNAM class through Make in India by collaborating with the Russians
- Get own Kaveri Jet Engine through a NATIONAL MISSION by the time TEJAS MK2 gets its IOC
