'India Will Ensure...': Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Condemns Recent Attacks On Merchant Ships in Indian Ocean Region

Taking a serious note of the recent attacks on merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said India will ensure that the maritime trade in the region rises. Condemning the attacks, he said India’s growing economic and strategic power has filled “some forces with jealousy and hatred”.

In a post on the Defence Ministry’s official X account, Singh said, “Nowadays the turbulence in the sea has increased a bit. India’s growing economic and strategic power has filled some forces with jealousy and hatred. The Government of India has taken the recent drone attack on ‘MV Chem Pluto’ in the Arabian Sea and the attack on ‘MV Sai Baba’ in the Red Sea a few days ago very seriously.”

“India is in the role of Net Security Provider in the entire IOR. We will ensure that the maritime trade in this region rises from the sea to the heights of the sky. For this, together with friendly countries, we will keep the Sea Lanes safe and secure for maritime commerce,” he added.

Chemical tanker MV Chem Pluto was hit by a drone off in the Arabian Sea when it was on its way to New Mangalore port on Saturday. A Pentagon spokesperson said on Sunday that MV Chem Pluto was hit by “a one-way attack drone fired from Iran”.

Saturday’s drone attack on MV Chem Pluto came amid increasing concerns over various commercial vessels being targeted reportedly by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

In view of the spate of attacks on commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea, the Navy deployed P-8I long-range patrol aircraft for surveillance, and warships INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata in the region to maintain a “deterrent presence”, Navy officials said.