Around
50 Indian Navy
vessels are currently deployed in sea lanes, including in areas of India's
maritime interest and in anti-piracy
operations, the Navy said on Tuesday April 17, 2018.
The
Indian Navy has wider presence in the backyard, the Indian Ocean
region, which is also witnessing an increasing presence of the Chinese navy.
It also has mission based deployments from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Straits
and from northern Bay of
Bengal to the east coast of Africa and southern Indian Ocean.
Mission Based Deployments from Persian Gulf to Malacca Straits and from
Northern Bay of Bengal to Southern Indian Ocean to East coast of Africa
@indiannavy with 50 ships on vigil 24X7 keep our Area of Responsibility (AOR)
safe. @indiannavy Anytime, Anywhere Every time @nsitharaman," the Indian
Navy spokesperson tweeted.
These are also the areas that have some of the vital Sea Lanes of Communication
(SLOCs), which are of strategic interest to India.
China,
too, has deployed its ships in the Indian Ocean to carry out anti-piracy
operations. It has a naval base in Djibouti and is building the Gwadar port in
Pakistan, strategically situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It has also
acquired the strategic Hambantata port while the country’s enterprises have
substantial stakes in Colombo port.
The
docking of a Chinese Nuclear submarine in Hambantata a few years ago sparked off a major controversy with India
taking a strong exception to the move by the island’s former President Mahinda
Rajapakshe.
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