&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "EAM Jaishankar calls docking of Iranian warship in Kochi was ‘right thing’ to do")
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, said that the decision to dock IRIS Lavana at the Kochi Port was the "humane thing to do", as the other Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was ambushed by the US 40 nautical miles from the coast of Sri Lanka. Jaishankar said that India follows “international law” and did the “right thing” by allowing it to dock.
“Here's the situation. We got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, which presumably was closest to our borders at that point in time, wanted to come into our port. They were reporting that they were having problems. On the 1st March, we said you can come in, and it took them a few days to sail in, and then they docked in Kochi,” said Jaishankar.
He said that when they came in, the situation was different; they “got caught on the wrong side”. The IRIS Dena was torpedoed and sunk by the USS Charlotte on March 4, marking the first time a US submarine has sunk an enemy vessel since World War II. The legality of the matter is debated. The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) and the law of naval warfare make it lawful to target a ship at “International Water” by the belligerent, while the UN Charter makes it illegal. IRIS Dena was returning from a peaceful, multilateral naval exercise, MILAN 2026 hosted by India, infact UN Charter makes the whole US war on Iran unlawful.
There was a huge backlash on social media and from the opposition, specifically after no condemnation of the sinking of the IRIS Dena from India, and #Modisilence trended on social media. The opposition argued about the loss of India's “strategic” autonomy. As PM Modi visited Israel just two days ahead of the US-Israeli military offensive against Iran, which began on 28 February. Highlighting the recent conflict in West Asia and security in the Indian Ocean, India's neutrality and role as a net security provider, Jaishankar, suggested that India quietly allowed an Iranian vessel to dock at an Indian port. He further added that the Indian Ocean is undergoing “redevelopment and restoring connectivity.” He tried to take a more pragmatic approach, saying that the foreign bases in the Indian Ocean were the “reality”.
“There are a lot of social media debates going on over this. Please understand the reality of the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia has been in the Indian Ocean for the last five decades. The fact that there are foreign forces based in Djibouti happened in the early first decade of this century. Hambantota came up during this period,” said S Jaishankar.
