India’s navy deploys warships to Arabian Sea after tanker attack | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Guided missile destroyers to ‘preserve deterrent presence’ after Israel-linked vessel hit off Indian coast.

The Indian Navy has dispatched guided missile destroyers to the Arabian Sea after an assault on an Israel-linked chemical tanker off its coast, the Ministry of Defence stated.

Three stealth-guided destroyers have been deployed “in numerous areas of the ocean” to “preserve a deterrent presence” contemplating the “latest spate of assaults within the Arabian Sea”, the ministry stated in a press release late on Monday. It was additionally utilizing long-range maritime patrol plane for “area consciousness”, it stated.

America claimed that the December 23 strike on MV Chem Pluto within the Indian Ocean was “fired from Iran”, an accusation that Tehran has dismissed as baseless.

The assault got here as a US-led job power sought to counter comparable threats to maritime delivery within the Pink Sea posed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

Amid the uptick in maritime strikes, this was the primary that the US has sought to instantly pin on Iran. It was additionally the primary on a vessel outdoors the Pink Sea.

“We are able to see that militarisation is rising, not solely within the Pink Sea, but in addition within the Arabian Peninsula,” stated Al Jazeera’s Resul Sardar, reporting from Djibouti.

“These are the regional ramifications of the battle on Gaza,” he reported on Tuesday.

The Indian Navy stated it was investigating the character of the assault on MV Chem Puto, which “anchored safely” within the monetary capital, Mumbai, on Monday.

An preliminary evaluation “pointed to a drone assault”, the ministry stated. However “additional forensic and technical evaluation shall be required to determine the vector of assault, together with sort and quantity of explosive used”.

The vessel had been “cleared for additional operation” by its firm, in keeping with the ministry.

Delivery below risk

MV Chem Pluto, a Japanese-owned tanker carrying 21 Indians and one Vietnamese citizen, was hit on Saturday whereas travelling 200 nautical miles (370km) off the coast of India, in keeping with the Pentagon. The assault sparked a hearth, which was put out, however prompted no casualties.

The Houthis have pledged to focus on any Israel-linked vessel within the Pink Sea, by means of which some 12 p.c of all world commerce passes, in solidarity with Gaza which has been bombarded by land, sea and air by the Israeli army.

Sardar stated that regardless of the brand new US-led job power, there nonetheless hasn’t been a rise in ships making an attempt to go by means of the Pink Sea, including that dozens of cargo ships stay stranded in Djibouti.

Since October, the Houthis have waged assaults on greater than a dozen vessels, pushing among the world’s largest companies to desert the route. The assault within the Indian Ocean, far-off from the Pink Sea, has raised issues about even broader dangers to maritime delivery amid the Israeli-Palestinian battle.

Washington has accused Tehran of being “deeply concerned” within the Houthi operations.

However Iran insists that it isn’t coordinating with the Houthis and performs no position within the assaults.

“The resistance [Houthis] has its personal instruments … and acts in accordance with its personal selections and capabilities,” Iran’s Deputy International Minister Ali Bagheri informed the Mehr information company on Saturday.