No hot pursuit of Somali pirates: India
September 26th, 2011 - 9:47 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) India Monday rejected suggestions that its navy should go on a hot pursuit of Somali pirates, who are threatening global trade on sea lanes of communication in the Indian Ocean region.
“I do not agree with the suggestion that India should follow a policy of hot pursuit against Somalian pirates,” Defence Minister A.K. Antony told Indian MPs, who are members of a parliamentary consultative committee related to his ministry.
“That’s not our policy,” he told the meeting.
Antony said 20 navies of the world were operating in the Gulf of Aden against pirates and the Indian Navy was cooperating with those navies.
However, he emphasised that India supported a joint anti-piracy operation of all world navies under the United Nations flag. “A joint effort under the aegis of the United Nations may yield better results,” he said.
India has continuously deployed a warship in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008 and has since thwarted 39 attacks on cargo ships, apart from escorting 1,700 merchant ships of different nationalities since.
It had also apprehended about 120 pirates in the last one year and they are lodged in Indian prisons at present.
Earlier, Antony described the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 as “a watershed moment” for the country’s defence establishment.
“We have come a long way since then,” he said.
The defence minister said he had asked the navy to prepare a comprehensive action plan for the security of India’s island territories as well.
Pointing out that India’s neighbourhood was “sensitive and dangerous” and created “a complex” security environment, Antony said the country’s defence policy was based on own threat perception.
“Added to this is international trade and energy requirements which necessitate that we have to ensure secure sea lanes of communication,” he added.
Giving details of the massive efforts made by the government to beef up coastal security, the defence minister said the capital expenditure for the Indian navy and coast guard had been doubled in the past three years following the 26/11 tragedy.
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- India proposes pro-active role in UN-flagged anti-piracy efforts - Mar 16, 2011
- Coast Guard plane chases pirates away off Lakshadweep - Jan 28, 2011
- India, China, Japan join hands for anti-piracy operations - Mar 14, 2012
Tags: cargo ships, complex security, defence establishment, different nationalities, gulf of aden, indian mps, indian navy, indian ocean region, indian prisons, island territories, massive efforts, merchant ships, navies of the world, sea lanes, somali pirates, somalian pirates, threat perception, united nations flag, watershed moment, world navies