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NEW DELHI: India’s “growing economic and strategic power has filled some forces with jealousy and hatred”, defence minister Rajnath Singh said as he commissioned stealth guided missile destroyer ‘INS Imphal‘ in Mumbai. It is the country’s first warship to be named after a city in the Northeast and the third of four ‘Visakhapatnam-class warships developed by the Indian Navy.
Calling INS Imphal – with 75% indigenous content, enhanced stealth features, state-of-the-art equipment and weapons – a symbol of ‘aatmanirbharta’ in defence, Singh, accompanied by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, said, “The government has taken the attacks on MV Chem Pluto in Arabian Sea and attack on MV Sai Baba in the Red Sea very seriously. We will find those who executed the recent attacks on merchant navy ships and take strict action against them. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
India is the “net security provider (for) the entire Indian Ocean region”, the defence minister said, stressing that the government will “work with friendly nations” and ensure the safety of maritime trade in the region.
Rajnath reiterated the Modi government’s resolve to lay equal emphasis on the modernisation of all three services to safeguard national interests, stating that earlier governments focussed only on protecting the country from land-based threats, not dangers from the sea. He pointed out that with the Himalayas in the north and the hostile behaviour of Pakistan in the west, most of India’s goods trade comes through sea, which makes it an island country from a ‘trade’ perspective.
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar pointed out that Navy had already deployed four destroyers of project 15B & 15A class besides I surveillance aircraft, dorniers, sea guardians, helicopters and coast guard ships to jointly counter the threats. Western Naval Command’s Maritime Operations Centre is also actively monitoring the situation along the Indian Ocean Region in close coordination with the Indian Coast Guard and other agencies.
On the explosives analysis of the attack on MV Chem Pluto, the Navy chief said the debris had been collected. “I don’t want to take any guesses. It (the drone attack) can be made from anywhere… We are analysing it to see what type of attack it is.”
Since November 19, there have been 30 drone and piracy attacks in the region, which means roughly one attack a day. Admiral Kumar said. “The frequency of attacks has definitely gone up. We have decided to take very robust action to protect our merchant shipping.”
Calling INS Imphal – with 75% indigenous content, enhanced stealth features, state-of-the-art equipment and weapons – a symbol of ‘aatmanirbharta’ in defence, Singh, accompanied by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, said, “The government has taken the attacks on MV Chem Pluto in Arabian Sea and attack on MV Sai Baba in the Red Sea very seriously. We will find those who executed the recent attacks on merchant navy ships and take strict action against them. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
India is the “net security provider (for) the entire Indian Ocean region”, the defence minister said, stressing that the government will “work with friendly nations” and ensure the safety of maritime trade in the region.
Rajnath reiterated the Modi government’s resolve to lay equal emphasis on the modernisation of all three services to safeguard national interests, stating that earlier governments focussed only on protecting the country from land-based threats, not dangers from the sea. He pointed out that with the Himalayas in the north and the hostile behaviour of Pakistan in the west, most of India’s goods trade comes through sea, which makes it an island country from a ‘trade’ perspective.
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar pointed out that Navy had already deployed four destroyers of project 15B & 15A class besides I surveillance aircraft, dorniers, sea guardians, helicopters and coast guard ships to jointly counter the threats. Western Naval Command’s Maritime Operations Centre is also actively monitoring the situation along the Indian Ocean Region in close coordination with the Indian Coast Guard and other agencies.
On the explosives analysis of the attack on MV Chem Pluto, the Navy chief said the debris had been collected. “I don’t want to take any guesses. It (the drone attack) can be made from anywhere… We are analysing it to see what type of attack it is.”
Since November 19, there have been 30 drone and piracy attacks in the region, which means roughly one attack a day. Admiral Kumar said. “The frequency of attacks has definitely gone up. We have decided to take very robust action to protect our merchant shipping.”
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