A day after a Thai shipowner claimed it was his trawler with 15 men on board that the Indian war ship INS Tabar had sunk off the Gulf of Aden last week, the Indian Navy on Wednesday maintained that it was a pirate ship that the Tabar had sunk. "The navy's stand is the same," a spokesperson said. Asked if the navy had any details about the hijack claim of the Thai company, the spokesperson said: "See there are no special pirate ships. When they capture a ship, they use it."
The M T Stolt Valor, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in September, has been released, according to the National Union of Seafarers of India. There were 18 Indian soldiers on board the hijacked ship. Initial reports said that ransom was paid to the pirates by the Japanese owners Stolt Tankers. Reports said that all crew members on board are safe. The ship has left for Mumbai and will reach in three to four days.
A Hong Kong ship bound for Mumbai with 18 Indian crew members on board has been hijacked and taken to Somalia, officials in the Directorate General of Shipping said in Mumbai on Tuesday night.'Stolt Valor', which bears a Hong Kong flag and carries over 23,000 tonnes of oil products, is reported to have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on Monday at around 1.15 pm, they said.
Suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group killed at least 142 people on Friday at mosques in the Yemeni capital, in an attack targeting Shiite worshippers including Huthi militiamen.
India on Tuesday night got permission to dock its ship at the Aden harbour for the evacuation of nearly 400 Indians from the sea port city as the government launched a massive air and sea evacuation operation for its over 4,000 nationals in strife-torn Yemen.
M T Stolt Valor, the cargo ship released by Somali pirates after two-month captivity in the Gulf of Aden, reached Muscat on Friday."We docked in Muscat at 10.30 am. All crew members are safe and healthy," Captain of the ship Prabhat Goel said.The hijacked merchant ship with 18 Indian sailors on board was freed on November 16 after a ransom amount between one to 2.5 million dollars was paid reportedly by the Japanese owners, following negotiations.
The evacuation mission mounted by the government helped more than 5,000 Indians leave war-torn Yemen. The author goes behind the scenes to find out how this was achieved
Taking a serious view of the suspicious movement of an American ship in Indian waters, the Centre on Monday sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the vessel which was detained for carrying arms and buying diesel unauthorisedly.
'The US has been closely monitoring all ships originating from North Korea to detect missile shipments bound for the Gulf region, lest some of these missiles find their way into the arsenal of Saddam Hussein, or Pakistan,' says B Raman.
As per plans, the Indian Air Force may use its planes to fly out Indian nationals stranded in Iraq to safer places nearby such as Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates from where commercial airliners would ferry them back to India.
Parrikar also released the revised strategic guidance document in view of the prevalent geo-economic and geo-strategic scenarios.
French naval commander expresses concern over China expanding its maritime influence in the region.
'We had doctors from Syria who could not go home as the situation in their country is even worse. We are fortunate we have a safe home to come back to while they don't have that luxury.'
"INS Godavari is likely to be used as a target to practice missile firing," said a naval official.
The government has asked Indian ships sailing in the Malacca Strait and South East Asia to be 'extra cautious' and take necessary security steps in view of rising incidents of hijacking and robbery
Among others, China is developing the strategically located Gwadar port in Balochistan, which is aimed towards having a military presence, says a Pentagon report
The American ship, detained by Coast Guard for carrying arms and ammunition off Tamil Nadu coast, may escape action if it is established that the vessel was cruising beyond Indian territorial waters, a top official said.
At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea.
'By causing military humiliation of India it intends to send a signal to other Asian countries to toe the Chinese line,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Going beyond their call of duty, crew members of warship INS Sumitra ensured that the 306 Indians evacuated from Yemen have a comfortable journey back home after their ordeal in the war-ravaged country.
In the case of India, there are no specific references in China's white paper. However, there are several takeaways for India, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
With the signing of the pact, the Quad grouping of India, Japan, Australia and the US is set to gain more heft now, notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
As India's international role expands, so must our capabilities, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The Chinese navy is large and expanding both in numbers and capability by the day.' 'India too must take measures to safeguard its own interests, now and in the future.'
'How does relief in the form of citizenship to a persecuted Hindu in Bangladesh put the citizenship of an Indian Muslim in danger?', asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm (Indian time) on Thursday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm (Indian time) from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation.
In a blow to Italy's attempt to internationalise the case of two Italian marines being tried in India for killing two fishermen, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked Rome to resolve the issue bilaterally.
India has got cracking into setting up its eyes and ears in the Indian Ocean
China's South China Sea build-up and 'territorial sea' construct potentially affects 55 percent of Indian trade passing through the region. Hence, coordinating with the US and Japan could provide dividends to India in the longer run,' says Srikanth Kondapalli.
'Assuming the official defence allocations represent the true picture, the $142 billion figure still represents a phenomenal increase and surpasses that of Japan ($42 billion), India ($40 billion), South Korea ($33 billion) and several other Asian countries put together and shows that China is flexing its military muscle.'
Building relations in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi has gifted naval vessels to Mauritius, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, even as China eyes the same locales.
As India rises, creating niche areas for itself in the Asian landscape, China and India are bound to step on each other's vital areas of importance, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
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