News Analysis India

Tag: US Navy

  • India, US kick off mega wargame in Indian Ocean with eye on China

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India and the US on Wednesday kicked off a two-day multi-domain wargame in the Indian Ocean involving an array of air defence platforms to further consolidate their operational synergy in the face of China’s increasing military presence in the region.

    The US has deployed its naval carrier strike group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, as well as a fleet of F-18 fighter jets and E-2C Hawkeye all-weather aircraft for the exercise, officials said.

    The Indian assets at the exercise included Jaguar and Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets, IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft and warships Kochi and Teg.

    The Indian Navy has also deployed a fleet of P8I maritime surveillance aircraft and MiG 29K jets, apart from other platforms.

    The US Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is currently deployed in the Indian Ocean region.

    A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships.

    “The Indian naval warships, along with aircraft from the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force will be engaged in the joint multi-domain operations with the carrier strike group comprising Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh,” Indian Navy’s spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said on Tuesday.

    He said the two-day exercise aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship and cooperation by demonstrating the ability to integrate and coordinate comprehensively in maritime operations.

    Officials said the high-tempo exercise will include advanced air-defence drills, cross-deck helicopter operations and anti-submarine manoeuvres with an aim to hone the war-fighting skills and enhance interoperability between the two sides.

    The exercise is being carried out south of Thiruvananthapuram, on the western seaboard.

    The officials said the exercise is focussing on multiple areas, including enhancing the aspects of interoperability, nuances of international integrated maritime search-and-rescue operations and exchange of best practices in the maritime airpower domain.

    The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

    In June 2016, the US had designated India as a “Major Defence Partner”.

    The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the last few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

    The two sides have also signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

    In October last year, India and the US sealed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) to further boost the bilateral defence ties.

    The pact provides for the sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

  • Indian Navy and Air force to exercise with US Carrier Strike Group in Indian Ocean

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a major exercise involving the warships and aircraft, the Indian Navy and Air Force are going to Participate in a Passage Exercise with US Navy Carrier Strike Group Ronald Reagan during its transit through Indian Ocean Region on 23rd and 24th June 2021.

    As per the Indian Navy, “The two-day exercise aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship and cooperation by demonstrating the ability to integrate and coordinate comprehensively in maritime operations.”

    The Indian Naval Ships (INS) Kochi and Teg along with P8I and MiG 29K aircraft and Indian Air Force will be engaged in joint multi-domain operations with the Carrier Strike Group comprising Nimitz class Nuclear aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Halsey and Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Shiloh.

    The Exercise is taking place in the Area of Responsibility of Southern Air Command. Indian Air force informed, “It will see the IAF forces operate from bases under four operational commands and will include Jaguars & Su-30 MKI fighters, AWACS, AEW&C and Air to Air Refueller aircraft. The US CSG is expected to field F-18 fighters and E-2C Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft.”

    The Exercise will include high tempo operations which will, “include advanced air defence exercises, cross deck helicopter operations and anti-submarine exercises.” the Navy said.

    “Indian Navy and US Navy regularly undertake a host of bilateral and multilateral exercises which underscore the shared values as partner navies, in ensuring commitment to an open, inclusive and a rule-based international order,” added the Indian Navy.

    The reports indicated that the Japan based US CSG, currently in the Indian Ocean, is on transit to the Middle east to provide support in completing the US Force withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

  • Disrespect shown must be addressed diplomatically: Shashi Tharoor on US Navy’s operation in India’s EEZ

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The US did not break international law when its Navy ship carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone last week, but it did show “disrespect” which must be addressed diplomatically, senior Congress leader and former UN under-secretary-general Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday.

    India on Friday had conveyed concerns to the United States over its Navy ship carrying out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

    India’s reaction came after the US Navy, in an unusual move, announced that one of its ships conducted patrols in the Indian EEZ on April 7, without seeking consent from India.

    Responding to the episode, Tharoor put out a series of tweets in which he argued that the best way forward was for India to extract an explicit undertaking from the US to inform it in advance as a courtesy before undertaking such operations and not to publicise the “fact that they have thumbed their noses at us”.

    ALSO READ | Pentagon defends US Navy’s operation in Indian waters

    “There’s understandable anger in India over the US Seventh Fleet sailing near Lakshadweep in waters that are part of our exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

    However, there is nothing in UNCLOS (the Law of the Sea) that supports India’s stand on freedom of navigation through the EEZ,” he said.

    The Americans are essentially doing near Lakshadweep exactly what they are insisting on doing in and through the South China Sea under the same Freedom of Navigation principle (FoNoPs), Tharoor said.

      The US can be accused of not respecting our sensibilities but not of breaking international law, the former Union minister said.

    “Some ask why the US has done to India what it hasn’t done to Canada/UK/Australia etc. by exercising FoNoPs through their EEZs. Since those are treaty allies, they have consultation agreements already in place with the US. India (is) not, & is unlikely to ever be, an ally,” he argued.

    “So the best we can hope for is an explicit undertaking to (1) inform India in advance as a courtesy and (2) not to publicise the fact that they have thumbed their noses at us.

    Our diplomacy should have negotiated this; nothing better would have been possible,” Tharoor said.

    ALSO READ | US Navy’s freedom of navigation operation in Indian EEZ without consent concerns nation

    The US hasn’t signed UNCLOS, but since FoNoPs is not in UNCLOS, the legal position is irrelevant, the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    “We need a pragmatic political approach rather than outrage about a legal breach that hasn’t occurred. There has been discourtesy & disrespect, which must be addressed diplomatically,” Tharoor asserted.

    The US Navy, in a statement, had announced last week that it asserted navigational rights and freedoms inside India’s EEZ without seeking the country’s prior consent.

    “This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims,” the US 7th fleet said in a statement.

    In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs had said, “The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of the USA through diplomatic channels.”

    It had also said India’s stated position has been that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not authorise other countries to carry out military exercises or manoeuvres in an EEZ and on the continental shelf without the consent of the coastal nation.

  • US Navy’s freedom of navigation operation in Indian EEZ without consent concerns nation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: In an unusual move, the US Navy has announced that this week it conducted a freedom of navigation operation in Indian waters without prior consent to challenge India’s “excessive maritime claims”, triggering a reaction from New Delhi, which on Friday said it has conveyed concerns to Washington through diplomatic channels.

    The Ministry of External Affairs also contested the US Navy’s 7th Fleet statement of April 7 that the freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) by the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses” of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India’s “excessive maritime claims”.

    “India’s stated position on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is that the Convention does not authorise other states to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state,” the MEA said.

    “The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits.

    We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of USA through diplomatic channels,” the MEA said.

    Announcing about the operation, the statement by the 7th Fleet said,”this freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims.”

    “On April 7, 2021 (local time) USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone, without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with international law,” the statement said.

    India requires that other countries should take prior consent from it to conduct military exercises or manoeuvres in its EEZ or continental shelf, which the US Navy statement claimed was inconsistent with international law.

    Asserting that the US forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis, the statement said “all operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”

    “We conduct routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to in the future.

    FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements,” it added.

  • US Navy conducts ‘Operation’ in Indian EEZ without permission

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a surprising move, the US Navy conducted ‘navigation operation’ within Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without any intimation to India. India on Friday conveyed its concerns to Washington through diplomatic channels over the US Navy warship’s unauthorised manoeuvre in India’s EEZ.

    The US 7th Fleet had officially admitted on Wednesday that its warship sailed into the area without consent saying, “On April 7, 2021 (local time) USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone, without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with international law.” The Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) was carried out on April 7.

    Adding further the US 7th Fleet statement termed India’s claims on EEZ as inconsistent. “India requires prior consent for military exercises or manoeuvres in its exclusive economic zone or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with international law.” As per the sources simple transit is permitted to all countries.

    “The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of USA through diplomatic channels,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

    The statement of 7th Fleet elaborated on the Indian government’s stated position on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which is that the convention “does not authorise other states to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state.”

    While India ratified the UNCLOS in 1982 US is not its signatory.

    Admiral Arun Prakash, former Indian navy Chief termed it ironical saying, 7th Fleet not only carried out FONO but publicised it too. Adm. Arun Prakash said on Twitter “There is irony here. While India ratified U.N. Law of the Seas in 1995, the U.S. has failed to do it so far. For the 7th Fleet to carry out FoN missions in Indian EEZ in violation of our domestic law is bad enough. But publicising it? USN please switch on IFF (Identification, friend or foe)!”. IFF is electronic means to distinguish between a friendly and an enemy.

    India is examining the event told a source. “We have to examine it from the view of the intent and its future implications”, told the source.

    Sources pointed to the US 7th Fleet Statement where it said that, “This freedom of navigation operation (“FONOP”) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims.”

    Stating on the operations the Fleet said, “U.S. Forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis. All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”

    Speaking on the operation the fleet said to continue it in the future. “We conduct routine and regular Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), as we have done in the past and will continue to in the future. FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements.” 7th Fleet said. 

  • US Navy breaches global law, conducts ‘operation’ in Indian EEZ without nod

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a surprising move, the US Navy conducted a ‘navigation operation’ within Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without any intimation to India. As per sources, the issue is being examined.

    The US 7th Fleet officially admitted the violation, saying, “On April 7, 2021 (local time) USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone, without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with international law.”

    The Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) was carried out on April 7.

    Adding further, the US 7th Fleet statement termed India’s claims on EEZ as inconsistent. “India requires prior consent for military exercises or maneuvers in its exclusive economic zone or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with international law.”

    As per sources, simple transit is permitted to all countries but, as per the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea, no military operation or economic activity is permitted with the permission of the littoral nation.

    While India ratified the UNCLOS in 1982, the US is not a signatory.

    Admiral Arun Prakash, former Indian navy Chief termed it ironical, for, he said, the 7th Fleet not only carried out FONO but publicised it too.

    Admiral Prakash tweeted: “There is irony here. While India ratified the UN Law of the Seas in 1995, the US has failed to do it so far. For the 7th Fleet to carry out FoN missions in Indian EEZ in violation of our domestic law is bad enough. But publicising it? USN please switch on IFF (Identification, friend or foe)!”

    India is examining the event. “We have to examine it from the view of the intent and its future implications,” a source said.

    Sources pointed to the US 7th Fleet Statement where it said that “This freedom of navigation operation (‘FONOP’) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims.”

    Stating on the operations the Fleet said, “US Forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis. All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”

    Speaking on the operation, the fleet said it plans to continue them in the future. “We conduct routine and regular Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), as we have done in the past and will continue to in the future. FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements,” the 7th Fleet said.

  • India, US begin two-day naval exercise in eastern Indian Ocean region

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India and the US on Sunday kicked off a two-day naval exercise in the eastern Indian Ocean Region, reflecting the growing congruence in their defence and military partnership.

    The Indian Navy deployed its warship Shivalik and long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I in the ‘PASSEX’ exercise while the US Navy was represented by the USS Theodore Rosevelt carrier strike group, officials said.

    A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships.

    “In a first, enhancing jointmanship, Indian Air Force fighters were also included in the exercise affording the IAF an opportunity to practice air interception and air defence with the US Navy,” a spokesperson of the Indian Navy said.

    The exercise came over a week after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin flew into India as part of his three-nation first overseas tour that signalled the Joe Biden administration’s strong commitment to its relations with its close allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

    During the visit, both sides resolved to further consolidate their robust defence cooperation through deeper military-to-military engagement with Austin describing the partnership as a “stronghold” of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

    The officials said the exercise began on Sunday and will conclude on Monday.

    The spokesperson said the exercise is aimed at consolidating the synergy and interoperability achieved during the Malabar exercise that took place in November last.

    Besides the Indian Navy, the Malabar naval exercise was participated by the navies of the US, Australia and Japan.

    The four countries are part of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition.

    China has been suspicious about the purpose of the Malabar exercise as it feels that the annual war game is an effort to contain its influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

    In July last, the Indian Navy carried out a military exercise with a US Navy carrier strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

    The USS Nimitz is the world’s largest warship.