New Delhi: India on Thursday described the situation in the Red Sea “precarious and risky”, as Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up attacks on merchant ships transiting through the region.
The remarks came on a day the Indian Navy announced that it had responded to a drone-attack distress call from a US-owned and Marshall Islands-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis have attacked and tried to hijack ships to retaliate Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza.
In a weekly briefing Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Indian Navy is patrolling in the region to secure the lanes. They are there to protect Indian shipping lines… They are also providing support to ships of other countries as well.”
“The situation is precarious, risky in the Red Sea area,” he added.
The Red Sea is a key maritime route for global shipping. The Indian Navy has stepped up its presence in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden in lieu of increased piracy and Houthi attacks. The force has deployed 12 surface vessels, including many destroyers.
The attacks on maritime vessels featured in External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday.
“There have also been recently a perceptible increase in threats to the safety of maritime commercial traffic in this important part of the Indian Ocean… We have even seen some attacks in the vicinity of India. This is a matter of great concern to the international community. Obviously, it also has a direct bearing on India’s energy and economic interests,” a joint statement issued by the two foreign ministers said.
This was reiterated by the MEA spokesperson Thursday, who said the Indian Navy was attempting to secure shipping lanes so that India’s “economic interests are not impacted”.
Indian exporters have been impacted by the situation in the Red Sea in the wake of increased costs of freight charges and insurance permits. Indian shipping companies are also looking for viable alternatives, though bypassing the Suez Canal requires ships to go all the way around the entire continent of Africa could lead to significant delays in shipments.
“I understand that there are international shipping lines which are taking the Cape of Good Hope. That is obviously impacting the flow of commerce and delaying commerce. It is impacting availability of products and services,” the MEA spokesperson said.
Last month, the US assembled a 10-nation coalition to help safeguard maritime security in the Red Sea region amid increasing attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. India, however, maintains that it was “not part of any multilateral arrangement” as of now.
The MEA spokesperson also declined to comment on questions regarding Pakistan’s attacks on “terrorist hideouts” in Iran on Thursday morning, just days after Tehran carried out a missile and drone attack in western Pakistan, which it claimed was the headquarters of Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adli.
‘Remain committed to projects in Maldives’
Amid rising tension between India and Maldives over the latter’s demand for withdrawal of Indian security personnel from the island nation, India has said it was committed to development projects in the country.
Last week, the Maldivian government gave New Delhi a deadline of 15 March to withdraw its personnel from the island nation. India, in response, said both sides were finding a “mutually-workable solution” to ensure the “continued operation” of Indian aviation platforms in the country.
The MEA spokesperson said the next meeting of the India-Maldives high-level core group would take place in India soon, and that this matter was an “ongoing discussion”.
“We remain committed to our projects… to take them forward. We have been an important development partner of Maldives,” Jaiswal said.
India has funded many projects in the Maldives, including an ongoing $500 million Greater Male Connectivity Project which seeks to link Male with the islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.
Asked if the Maldivian government had requested a state-visit by President Mohamed Muizzu to India last year, the MEA spokesperson said India and Maldives have always been engaged in facilitating high-level visits.
Also read: Red Sea crisis intensifies. Yet another drone attack on merchant ship, Indian Navy responds