- 2 days ago
A US submarine torpedoed and sank Iranian warship INS Dena approximately 40 kilometres off the Sri Lankan coast on March 3, days after it participated in India's International Fleet Review in Vishakhapatnam. The Iranian frigate departed India on February 25 and was attacked while en route. The Indian Navy was informed about the sinking on March 4 at 9 am and subsequently diverted ships and aircraft for rescue operations. Strategic affairs experts suggest the incident raises concerns about India's role as a regional security provider in the Indian Ocean. Questions have been raised about whether the US violated the Second Geneva Convention by not alerting rescue authorities immediately after the attack. The incident has prompted diplomatic activity, with India's Foreign Secretary signing a condolence book for assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei five days after his death. Experts debate whether India should recalibrate its defence partnerships in light of US military operations in India's strategic backyard without prior coordination.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00So let's raise the big question. Does India need to strongly call out the U.S.-Israeli aggression?
00:05Is quiet diplomacy better than empty rhetoric? Can India stay neutral in this war?
00:11Is the U.S. sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean a wake-up call?
00:16Joining me now is Ashok Kanta, former Indian ambassador to China joins me.
00:20Brahma Chalani, strategic affairs expert, he's been writing on this.
00:24Vice Admiral Satish Soni, retired former naval commander, also with us.
00:28I want to come to you, Admiral Soni, Vice Admiral Soni first.
00:31Let's start with the warship issue. I'll come to Kamenai later.
00:35But do you believe that this is an embarrassment to have a diplomatic military exercise being conducted just days ago?
00:43The ship is on its way back and then gets targeted by a U.S. submarine torpedo.
00:49Or do you believe this is fair game? We are in war. And when you are in war, expect the
00:54unexpected.
00:56Well, thank you so much, Rajdeep, for having me on your show.
01:00But let's get to the fact of the matter straight.
01:03Three Iranian ships participated in the international fleet review.
01:08In fact, at the anchorage, there was only one of them, the frigate, which eventually was sunk, that is INS
01:14Dana.
01:14And there were two other ships which hung around outside.
01:17They departed Vishakhapatnam on the 25th of February.
01:2225th of February, they set course down south.
01:25Indian Navy, I don't think, was aware.
01:28So many ships came.
01:29They departed wherever they had to go.
01:31So Indian Navy was not aware as to which is the next port of call.
01:36But apparently, there was a surveillance which was carried out by the P-8I.
01:41And they found one of the ships of Colombo on the 28th of February.
01:47Apparently, the ship had two medical casualties to disembark in Colombo.
01:53I suspect that from the 25th, when they departed, to the 3rd, when the ship was sunk, these ships were
02:02hanging around in the sea lines of communication,
02:05either waiting for orders from the Iranian Navy as to what should happen, because it is quite illogical to sail
02:13into the war zone when you are not even armed.
02:16Or they were probably seeking refuge in one of the ports in Sri Lanka.
02:21I cannot say for sure what happened.
02:24Now, the Indian Navy got this information on the 4th of March at 9 o'clock that there has been
02:33a sinking and rescue efforts are on.
02:37Indian Navy diverted INS Tarangani one ship and sailed two ships from Kochi and had the P-8I on task.
02:48And there were four Sri Lankan ships who were carrying out the rescue.
02:52Now, in case of whether this is an embarrassment or not, now Iran and U.S. are at war.
03:00Now, when you are at war, there is a legal connotation to this.
03:05There are laws of armed conflict.
03:07There is international humanitarian law.
03:09Now, ships, naval ships of either side of the belligerents, they are qualified military targets.
03:17So, to be able to say that whether this was a legitimate action or not is…
03:24Well, let me cut the chase, sir.
03:27Would India…
03:28What does it say that the Indian Navy was completely unaware of the presence of U.S. submarines in the
03:34area?
03:35Well, no Navy who has deployed their submarines in the Indian Ocean or whichever would divulge its position to anyone
03:43else.
03:44But we have often claimed, we have often claimed publicly that we have surveillance mechanisms across the region in the
03:53Indian Ocean.
03:54No, we don't have.
03:54No, no, no.
03:55Raj Desai…
03:56We have claimed that this is our area of influence.
04:00It may be our area of influence, but to have an underwater domain awareness of the entire Indian Ocean is
04:08virtually impossible.
04:09It is not possible for even the U.S. Navy or any other Navy.
04:12Even 40 kilometers away from the Sri Lankan coast?
04:15It may be any time, but it is not possible for any Navy to have complete maritime, underwater maritime domain
04:22awareness.
04:23In fact, what you talk of underwater, even surface domain awareness, it is not possible.
04:29So, therefore, we have these wide shipping agreements, we have satellite tracking systems, we have AIS responders on board ships.
04:39And that is to make out that, you know, to have as much maritime domain awareness as possible.
04:45And that is what we share with our literal neighbors.
04:49Okay.
04:49But, yeah.
04:51Okay, I take your point.
04:52Brahma Chalani, you therefore go along that it's unfair to pin the blame on India.
04:57We may have had, at some level, a moral responsibility because they were our guests, but Iran and U.S.
05:03are at war with each other.
05:06Therefore, the U.S. could well claim, just as Iran is firing missiles at random targets recklessly across the Gulf,
05:13they've pinpointed and targeted an Iranian warship.
05:17Do you believe that the Indian Navy, therefore, can completely put its hands off and say this is a Sri
05:24Lankan, at best, a Sri Lankan Navy issue,
05:27since they were closer to Sri Lankan waters?
05:29Certainly, there is no legal responsibility on India to be held responsible in any way for what happened.
05:36Rajdeep, let's not talk about international law.
05:38First, the U.S. has not declared war on Iran, despite conducting these strikes every day, hundreds of strikes every
05:47day,
05:47and yet the U.S. insists that this is not war.
05:51Second, the U.S. under Trump has trashed international law openly.
05:59Trump regards American power as legal authority by itself.
06:04As far as the laws of war are concerned, the Geneva Conventions, they impose a clear obligation.
06:11Once a ship is sinking, the attacking party must, as far as circumstances permit, search for survivors.
06:20The U.S. submarine instead departed the area.
06:23The least the submarine could have done was to alert the Indian Navy so that the Indian Navy could mount
06:29rescue operation.
06:30The Indian Navy statement today talks about deploying assets hours after the Iranian frigate sunk in the Indian Ocean.
06:44But look at it from the broader Indian context.
06:48In the world of Indian diplomacy, the Indian Ocean region is considered India's primary area of influence.
06:55It is India's strategic backyard.
06:57India describes itself as, quote-unquote, net security provider in the Indian Ocean region.
07:05The Indian Navy is supposed to be the guardian of the Indian Ocean.
07:09Yet, a foreign power…
07:10But here you have the Navy Vice Chief telling us, look, you can't monitor every little…
07:17It's not possible to monitor the Indian Ocean like this.
07:20But look at it this way, Rajdeep.
07:24A foreign power conducting a high-intensity torpedo strike so close to Indian waters in India's maritime backyard.
07:33Wouldn't that raise concerns in New Delhi?
07:36The fact that Iris Dina had just departed from India's Milan naval exercise in Vishakhapatnam highlights a grim irony.
07:44A vessel invited by India for a friendship exercise was destroyed by India's major defence partner, the U.S., shortly
07:53after leaving Indian waters without India being informed about it.
07:57There was no coordination with India.
07:59You just…
07:59What does it show?
08:01What does it show?
08:01That the U.S. has effectively ignored India's role as a regional security provider.
08:09And there are larger questions because India has signed all the four so-called foundational defence agreements with India, like
08:19LMAO, ComCASA.
08:21And the question today, the one question that we shouldn't ignore is that under these two military pacts, ComCASA and
08:31LMAO, India and the U.S. share sensitive maritime data.
08:35If the U.S. attack submarine used shared data to locate and sink this Iranian frigate that had just departed
08:46Vishakhapatnam, it would represent a fundamental, a foundational breach of the U.S.-India defence partnership.
08:53So there's a certain message the U.S. is delivering to India that we don't care about India, about its
09:00regional role.
09:02We don't care about Prime Minister Modi's, you know, vision of Mahasagar, that we will do what we think is
09:13appropriate.
09:14As the U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hexson said, that we don't care about laws of war and that we
09:21will pursue our war with no mercy.
09:23Right.
09:24Okay.
09:24Those are very strong words coming in from you, Brahmachalini, almost suggesting that this strikes at the very heart of
09:31the U.S.-India defence partnership.
09:32You mentioned Geneva Convention.
09:35Geneva Convention 1949, Article 18.
09:37After each engagement, parties to the conflict shall, without delay, take all possible measures to search for and collect the
09:45shipwrecked, wounded and sick,
09:47to protect them against pillage and ill treatment, to ensure their adequate care and to search for the dead and
09:53prevent their being despoiled.
09:55The Geneva Convention, Article 18 says, whenever circumstances permit, the parties to the conflict shall conclude local arrangements for the
10:03removal of the wounded and sick by sea from a besieged or encircled area and for the passage of medical
10:08and religious personnel and equipment on their way to that area.
10:11So, India could claim they've subsequently followed Geneva Convention.
10:15But, Ashok Kanta, it seems to have within 24 hours, this strike on an Iranian warship almost ensured that India
10:23has made a reach out to Iran.
10:24There's been a conversation between Dr. Jai Shankar and his Iranian counterpart.
10:28And Vikram Misri, foreign secretary, has gone and signed the condolence book, condoling the killing of Ali Khamenei five days
10:37after he was assassinated.
10:38There were questions over India's silence.
10:40Has India finally been forced to speak out because of what happened?
10:45Well, Razeev, I would not like to see it as a cause and effect kind of situation.
10:52What happened in the case of Iris Dena is deeply troubling, no doubt about it.
10:59It's problematic on many counts, you know, as Professor Brahmachalani has also brought out.
11:05One, you know, as I mentioned, here was a warship which was participating in an Indian, you know, goodwill level
11:15exercise on its way back, clearly in a non-combatant role.
11:21And it's being hit like that.
11:23There are, you know, apart from legal issues, there are serious, you know, strategic signaling to India that what is
11:32happening in our immediate periphery,
11:35USA doesn't quite take into account.
11:40From legal point of view also, you referred to Article 18 of Second Geneva Convention, which has clearly been violated
11:48by U.S. submarine.
11:50At the least, it could have alerted Sri Lankan Navy and Indian Navy, even if it didn't want to surface
11:57to help, you know, the stricken Iranian sailors.
12:02Equally important from our point of view, it is in violation of Article 58 of UNCLOS.
12:09You know, this incident took place within exclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka.
12:15And our reading of Article 58 is that no such military activity can be undertaken without due regard being taken
12:26of, you know, interests of coastal estate, essentially consent being obtained.
12:31USA has a different reading, no doubt about it.
12:33I'm aware of that.
12:34But, you know, India, almost entire global south, by its by interpretation, I just referred to, that was also violated.
12:42But bottom line is that what has been done, in a way, is a part of, you know, pattern of
12:51behavior, where USA engages in activities in India's neighborhood, whether it be in Pakistan, whether it be in Bangladesh, whether
13:00it be in coastal waters, you know, EZ of Sri Lanka now.
13:05Sir, sir, sir, sir, with due regard, where, no, so where does this leave the U.S.-India strategic partnership?
13:11Where does this, you know, as is being suggested by Brahma Chalani, we have this defense partnership, and yet U
13:18.S. has completely disregarded, in a way, the Indian Navy or Indian government concerns, gone ahead,
13:23toppied on an Iranian ship, which was our guest, which was on a non, which was a non-combatant, in
13:29that sense, and all, are we saying that we just can throw our hands?
13:34Yesterday, I had Admiral Prakash on the show, Arun Prakash, former Naval Chief, and he said India must show its
13:41displeasure, Ashok Kanta.
13:43Can India show its displeasure today to America?
13:45You know, there are different ways of conveying displeasure, whether we do it publicly or we do it privately, but
13:53I think our deep concerns in this regard ought to be shared with Washington, D.C.,
13:58because, you know, this is something which is clearly not acceptable.
14:03I would not like to link this incident's aftermath with the position we have taken on, you know, condemning, not
14:11rather condemning, but expressing our condolences on assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader.
14:17But it took us five days, sir, with due regard, Mr. Kanta, it took us five days.
14:23It took us five days to break our silence.
14:26Yes, which has its own message.
14:28And, but I don't want to comment on that.
14:32There are, there are considerations that my serving colleagues and both leaders of the country has to take into account.
14:40Okay.
14:40As private citizens, we can comment on it.
14:43That's a different matter altogether.
14:44Okay.
14:45Brahma Chalani, are you, are you surprised that it, do you see some kind of correlationship between what happened to
14:52the Iranian warship of Sri Lanka's waters,
14:55and, sir, India now signing that condolence book and making it clear that they condoled at the passing away of
15:01Ali Khamenei?
15:02Five days, there was no, no such comment being made?
15:07There is a connection, Rajdeep.
15:09The Indian government is facing pressure both internally and externally.
15:13Let me first describe the external pressure.
15:15The U.S. wants India to activate LIMOA, the military pact, to support U.S. naval assets operating in the
15:24Indian Ocean.
15:25If India allows the U.S. to refuel or repair its ships involved in the strikes against Iran at Indian
15:32ports,
15:32it would effectively end India's claim of neutrality.
15:36If India provides logistics, that is, food, water, fuel to the U.S. 5th or 7th fleet under LIMOA right
15:42now,
15:43India will be seen as a logistical accessory to the U.S. war effort.
15:49And domestically, as the opposition attacks the government on different issues,
15:56there is pressure, at least there is political pressure from the opposition to suspend LIMOA while the war rages.
16:03But LIMOA and GOMCASA are the two main agreements out of the four that are at the heart of the
16:11current dilemma
16:12that the Indian government faces.
16:15Let's look at it in a larger light, that what this particular episode, that is the sinking of an Iranian
16:28frigate,
16:29as it has highlighted, it is that India needs to reduce its reliance on Washington.
16:37As Professor, sorry, as Ambassador Ashok Kanta has very rightly pointed out,
16:41that in India's immediate neighborhood, whether it's Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Iran, or the Indian Ocean,
16:50the U.S. and India are not on the same page.
16:52In fact, the U.S. is working against India's vital interests in India's own neighborhood.
16:57So, India's reliance on Washington needs to be tempered.
17:02That's the message.
17:03Okay.
17:04I want to get a final word then from you, Admiral Sonia.
17:08Do you believe that the Indian Navy, in a sense,
17:12also needs to re-look at this entire engagement with the United States?
17:16If the United States is going to take India and the Indian Navy and our defense partnership for granted,
17:21where does it leave us?
17:24You know, India has started its engagement with the U.S. Navy from 92.
17:32From then, our dependence on the U.S. arms industry has only slowly been increasing.
17:39We, in return, get state-of-the-art equipment, which has helped us a great deal.
17:46And now we are into technology transfer partnerships.
17:49So, there is much to gain from the U.S.
17:52There is no doubt.
17:53How this works in the greater geopolitical metrics and political affiliations and dependence thereof
18:00is something for the political leadership to decide.
18:03But Indian Navy has certainly gained a lot.
18:07But I am sure that we are not fools and we calibrate these associations, you know, very critically.
18:16And we don't want to become over-dependent.
18:18There is a lot of emphasis which is given on indigenization, especially in the Indian Navy.
18:24We are building ships which have what, up to 88% of indigenous content.
18:28And so, I think we will continue to have engagement with the U.S. Navy that there is no doubt.
18:34Let us not get very passionate about these things.
18:37And… but of course, we have to have a form…
18:40The question is whether we have to draw some lines.
18:43Whether we have to draw some lines now with the United States.
18:45And maybe this episode says there are certain red lines that cannot be crossed.
18:50And maybe that's the message in a way that needs to be given even to the United States
18:55which is unofficially at war with Iran but officially has not declared war as yet.
19:03I appreciate my guests joining me here on my top talking point.
19:07Thank you very much.
Comments