No prior consent, US Navy holds drill in Indian waters

The move triggered a reaction from the Ministry of External Affairs, which on Friday said, “We have conveyed our concern regarding the passage through our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to the US through diplomatic channels.”

New Delhi, April 9

In what raises serious questions on the India-US relations, the US Navy announced that this week it conducted a freedom of navigation operation in Indian waters without prior consent to challenge India’s “excessive maritime claims”.

MEA cites UN norms

A US warship conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone without its consent

While the MEA says the US violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the latter claims its act is ‘consistent’ with international law

The EEZ of a country is defined as 200 nautical miles from the coast. The 7th fleet of the US Navy, in a public announcement, said, “USS John Paul Jones asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands. This freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims.”

The MEA said the US warship was continuously monitored transiting from Persian Gulf towards Malacca Straits. It stated India’s position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). “The convention does not authorise other states to carry out in the EEZ, military exercises, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state,” it said.

The US said its act was consistent with international law while India’s claims were not. “India requires prior consent for military exercises or manoeuvres in its EEZ or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with the international law,” the statement of the 7th fleet said.

The US statement has come even as five countries, including four Quad members, are in the middle of a three-day (April 7-9) military exercise in Bay of Bengal near the straits of Malacca, the busy shipping way that leads to China.

Former Indian Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash tweeted, “There is irony here. While India ratified the UN law of the seas in 1995, the US has failed to do it. For it to carry out freedom of navigation missions in Indian EEZ in violation of our domestic law is bad enough. But publicising it? US please switch on IFF (identification of friend or foe).” — TNS