Click to play videoIn a fierce gun battle in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy has destroyed a mother ship belonging to Somali pirates. In a first major attack against sea piracy off Somalia coast on Monday night, the Indian Navy warship INS Tabar sank the mother ship from which pirates were launching attacks on commercial ships. The action has been praised by many countries and with it India is emerging as the lead player in anti-piracy operations. The action came just a week the Navy saved two merchant ships from being hijacked by Somali pirates.
So does the action by INS Tabar establish India as the pre-eminent player in the anti-piracy campaign in the Indian Ocean region?
CNN-IBN Senior Editor Sagarika Ghose put the question to retired Rear Admiral Raja Menon who said the operation undertaken by INS Tabar had done India proud.
“INS Tabar has done the Navy proud by this (operation). One of the reasons why this ship has done so well is because the commanding officer has been allowed to use his initiative and he has allowed very unambiguous rules of engagement as we call it the ROE. He has been given very clear ROE by India’s Naval Headquarters and that has partly contributed in a way the commanding officer has acted,” retired Rear Admiral Menon said.
However, INS Tabar’s action came almost two months after MV Stolt Valor was hijacked. Stolt Valor was finally released on Sunday. So what took the Navy so long to take action?
The retired Rear Admiral pointed out that just one nation cannot secure the shipping lane and called for a multi-nation effort under the UN.
“Yes, it is a problem as a single country cannot maintain a patrol all by itself. It has to be a multi-lateral effort. Indian Navy’s position has been that a multi-lateral effort must be under the UN flag. So far there has been a Task Force 150 operating in the region but that been an extension of operations in Afghanistan – Operation Enduring Freedom. So the mandate for the naval patrol in that area is not a clear anti-piracy role. It is part of the ongoing operations in Afghanistan. Now that Task Force 150 is actually with the Indian Navy ship operating in that area but it is operating separately. This has been the best arranged that has been worked out,” Menon said.
Seema Goyal, wife of the captain of Stolt Valor PK Goyal said that it was a great feeling that her husband’s ship was finally free.
“It is a great feeling and it is nice to see that our people are coming back home after so long,” Seem said.
“May be yes! The government would have ignored it. I wanted the Stolt Valor to be released but it is OK if people say that my efforts have worked, be it that way,” she replied when asked if she hadn’t raised her voice, the piracy would have been ignored by the government.
She also congratulated the Indian Navy of trying to secure the shipping lanes in the Guf of Aden.
“I have heard that we have one of the best naval commandoes in the world. But they have proved today that they are the best in the world. Indian Navy has done India proud and I salute them,” she said.
“When I came out in the open to get by husband back, I never knew what the strategy, what the stance of the government is. What the insecurity level of the people in the Gulf of Aden was. Slowly and steadily I went deep into it and started getting the details, it was definitely a menace. So why not rescue people and get that area safe as it is the busiest shipping lane. So safety and security has to be the priority there. One ship has been released but more have been hijacked. I will say INS Tabar is not enough for the area. I look forward to more ships out there patrolling the area to make it more safe and sound,” she concluded.
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