Guided missile destroyers to ‘maintain deterrent presence’ after Israel-linked vessel hit off Indian coast.
The Indian Navy has dispatched guided missile destroyers to the Arabian Sea after an assault on an Israel-linked chemical tanker off its coast, the Ministry of Defence stated.
Three stealth-guided destroyers had been deployed “in various areas of the sea” to “maintain a deterrent presence” contemplating the “recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea”, the ministry stated in a press release late on Monday. It was additionally utilizing long-range maritime patrol plane for “domain awareness”, it stated.
The United States claimed that the December 23 strike on MV Chem Pluto within the Indian Ocean was “fired from Iran”, an accusation that Tehran has dismissed as baseless.
The assault got here as a US-led job pressure sought to counter comparable threats to maritime delivery within the Red Sea posed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.
The Indian Navy stated it was investigating the character of the assault on MV Chem Puto, which “anchored safely” within the monetary capital, Mumbai, on Monday.
An preliminary evaluation “pointed to a drone attack”, the ministry stated. But “further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used”.
The vessel had been “cleared for further operation” by its firm, based on the ministry.
Shipping beneath menace
MV Chem Pluto, a Japanese-owned tanker carrying 21 Indians and one Vietnamese citizen, was hit on Saturday whereas travelling 200 nautical miles (370km) off the coast of India, based on the Pentagon. The assault sparked a fireplace, which was put out, however prompted no casualties.
The Houthis have pledged to focus on any Israel-linked vessel within the Red Sea, via which some 12 % of all world commerce passes, in solidarity with Gaza which has been bombarded by land, sea and air by the Israeli army.
Since October, the Houthis have waged assaults on greater than a dozen vessels, pushing a number of the world’s largest corporations to desert the route. The assault within the Indian Ocean, far-off from the Red Sea, has raised issues about even broader dangers to maritime delivery amid the Israeli-Palestinian battle.
Amid the uptick in maritime strikes, this was the primary that the US has sought to instantly pin on Iran. It was additionally the primary on a vessel exterior the Red Sea.
Washington has accused Tehran of being “deeply involved” within the Houthi operations.
But Iran insists that it isn’t coordinating with the Houthis and performs no function within the assaults.
“The resistance [Houthis] has its own tools … and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri informed the Mehr information company on Saturday.
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