From Night watch, 27 Oct., 2009
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->India-Somali anti-pirate patrol: The Indian Navy has decided to deploy two ships in the Indian Ocean to counter threats from Somali pirates, the Indian Express reported 27 October. <b>According to unidentified sources, the ships will take up duty stations near Mauritius and the Seychelles.</b> <i>Means uncle's sources. See below about rpvs and USN in the area.</i>
Navy Captain Manohar Nambiar told the press that the Indian Navy has a presence in the region devoted to surveillance that is separate from the Navy ship already patrolling the Gulf of Aden. The guided missile frigate INS Trishul operates with international maritime forces off Aden.
<b>The two warships bound for the Seychelles </b>are the naval amphibious ship INS Shardul and Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel Varuna, which were originally on a "routine training and surveillance mission'' to the waters near Seychelles. Both have naval cadets aboard, but <b>are responding to a Seychelles request to prolong what was a training mission.</b>Â
Somali <b>pirate depredations near Mauritius and the Seychelles this summer afford India a legitimate cover</b> for maintaining a naval presence off the coast of Africa. <b>These deployments will provide India situational awareness in the western Indian Ocean, serving a purpose similar to Indiaâs base in the Andaman Islands at the mouth of the Malacca Strait in the eastern Indian Ocean. The Indians take seriously the name of the Ocean. Plus, they get to work with US navy remotely piloted aircraft and support crews in the Seychelles.</b>
Nevertheless, according to the Times of India, the External Affairs and Defence Ministries are considering several options for combating piracy off the Seychelles. <b>The government has not decided whether it should approve a "prolonged continuous deployment of Indian warships in those waters, like the ongoing one in the Gulf of Aden. â</b>
According to the Times, <b>in the last 12 months, Indian Navy ships have escorted 644 merchant ships across the 490 nautical mile-long "internationally recommended transit corridor'' in the Gulf of Aden, thwarting 13 piracy attempts since October 2008. India's annual imports through the Gulf of Aden are valued at $50 billion, while exports are estimated at $60 billion.</b>
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It is good, but why PMO is dithering. They should grab this opportunity and run with it.
Only problem, Uncle may push India into sea blockage against Iran in near future plus push towards Islamist targets.
ISRO will launch GSAT-7 satellite somewhere in the summer months this year. This satellite is dedicated as the Navy's infrastructure for communication and network centric warfare.
It will network together the Navy's warships, submarines and aircrafts as well as the operational centres ashore, through high-speed data-links. This will detect & share maritime threats in real-time to ensure swift reaction.
The satellite will cover around 600 x 1,000 nm area of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), categorised by India as its primary area of responsibility in terms of maritime security.
I hope it will improve the situation. But it doesn't mean the cat and mouse game will be over. It is never over.
Regards,
Virendra
The current State Visit by the President of India to Seychelles, accompanied by a high level delegation is likely to further enhance the cooperation between the two countries. This is likely to include security related cooperation. Since it gained independence from Britain, Seychelles has been receiving Indian assistance and over the years this has covered a wide range of fields.The present high level visit is therefore likely to strengthen this friendly ties.
05-01-2012, 04:08 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-01-2012, 04:09 AM by ramana.)
Good job/news ravishji. See my first post in this thread!
Ramanaji,
Your first post is indeed interesting. Let us hope that its contents indeed become a reality in the near future. However, our strategic planners need to take note of several other aspects which are direct fallout of the Somali pirate activities in the Indian Ocean region. Some of these developments may have security implications for India.
The most glaring example is the Italian security opening fire and killing Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala. The subsequent flexing of diplomatic muscle by Italy to compel India to follow the lines dotted by the Italians has so far not been successful. Needless to mention that in the days ahead the Italians will continue to mount pressure on the Indian Government so that the two Italian security personnel get released.
Apart from this unfortunate incident there are several other developments that we should take note of in the context of our national maritime security. Most of the western powers, particularly those belonging to the EU have increased their Naval presence in the Indian Ocean. If they continue to have a prolonged presence in the area we may expect the return of colonial arrogance in the attitude of some of the participating nations. The only silver lining is the economic turmoil in the EU. If this situation does continue for some more time, one may see the curtailment of activities in the Indian Ocean area by the Navies of the EU countries.
The shooting incident off the Kerala coast has to be seen in the overall situation prevailing in the area at the moment. Apart from the EU forces, you have the presence of the US Navy, which has always been there to some extent in the past also. However, they are unlikely to be a matter of concern for India as due to their long presence in the area their forces are much acclimatised and unlikely to act in panic or recklessly as has been the case with the Italians.
The most recent entrant in the area had been the Chinese Navy. They have been sending a token force in the Gulf of Oman and the surrounding areas to provide escort to international shipping. So far they have not shown any arrogant attitude while discharging their international obligations. Since the Indian Navy is also present in the area, certainly the naval ships of the two Asiatic powers are meeting each other on the high seas and obviously exchanging greetings much to the disgust of the former colonial powers.
The Italians know very well that inn India the executive has no power to shortcut the judicial process. So we find that its repeated statements and demands for the immediate release of its security personnel is rather a sign of arrogance. I hope the Indian Government will take a firm stand against the Italians as it has done so far.
Good summation Ravishji. Thanks.
ramana
