For the second time in less than 48 hours, India Friday summoned the US charge d’affaires (CDA) and lodged a “strong protest” over the series of attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman.
On Thursday, the government confirmed the death of three Indian seafarers, reported missing a day earlier from MT Settebello after it was attacked — of the 24 Indians on board, 21 were rescued. Also Thursday, US forces fired Hellfire missiles into the engine room of MT Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker, near the Oman coast. All 20 Indian seafarers on board were safely evacuated.
CDA Jason Meeks was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs where K Nagaraj Naidu, Additional Secretary (Americas division), conveyed India’s concerns.
The MEA, which usually doesn’t use the word “summoning” for calling in foreign diplomats, said in a statement: “The US Charge d’Affaires, Mr Jason Meeks, was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs today.A strong protest was lodged with him regarding the continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman, which have already resulted in the tragic and avoidable loss of three Indian lives.”
The MEA again “conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping. Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time”.
“The US Charge d’Affaires was requested to convey India’s strong concerns to his authorities and to ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life,” it said.
Meeks was first summoned on Wednesday following an attack earlier in the day by American forces on MT Settebello.
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The war in West Asia, triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 and the subsequent naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz, have jeopardised Indian lives and livelihoods, apart from the economic impact.
Since Indian seafarers are part of the global shipping industry, they have become casualties in the ongoing conflict. At least 13 Indians have been killed since the start of the war, and one remains missing.
The sense in Delhi is that such attacks cannot go unchallenged. Maritime security and the safety of seafarers are a major concern in the Strait of Hormuz area.
The strait is the key channel through which 20 percent of the global energy supply passes in large carriers. Qatar, UAE, Kuwait have all been negatively impacted by the closure of the strait, and that has led to a global rise in prices of oil and gas, and impacted the supply of LPG to India and other countries.
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The attacks on commercial vessels, the resumption of military strikes by US and Iran and the issue of maritime security frame both diplomatic and economic challenges for G7 leaders meeting next week at Evian-les-Bains in eastern France – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump will be among world leaders at the meeting. Modi is undertaking an official visit to France and Slovakia from June 13 to 18.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei, in a post on X, said, “The brutal US attacks on Indian commercial vessels which have killed at least three Indian nationals, stand as clear evidence of America’s ongoing policy of armed robbery and State piracy.”
“We extend our sympathies to the families and friends of the slain Indian sailors and offer our sincere condolences to the Indian people and government. The international community must hold the United States accountable for its lawless conduct, which continues to threaten global peace and security while endangering the freedom of navigation,” he said.
In April, the Indian government had summoned the Iranian envoy to lodge a protest over the targeting of Indian vessels, and had conveyed “deep concern”. This was after the Iranian navy fired on passing vessels, two of them India-flagged carriers.
