Ready to tackle terror at sea: Navy Chief

New Delhi: Indian Navy is closely monitoring incidents like the failed attempt by al-Qaida to hijack Pakistani frigates PNS Aslat and PNS Zulfikar at Karachi in September.

Navy Chief Robin Dhowan said he is gearing up to tackle jihadi terror emanating from the sea to protect India’s strategic interest’s right up to the contentious South China Sea.

While shadow-boxing with the rapidly-expanding Chinese Navy for the same strategic space in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) remains an on-going task, the Navy has now also factored into its security calculus the prospect of terrorists actually commandeering Pakistani warships in their bid to wreak havoc on India. 

“The seas are no longer a benign medium…the threats are real. The global commons has become very vulnerable because of challenges posed from asymmetric warfare and maritime terrorism to piracy and floating armouries,” said Admiral Robin Dhowan, in the run-up to the Navy Day on Thursday.

“It is a very, very serious situation…We have taken serious note,” said Admiral Dhowan, adding his force had cranked up surveillance and security systems to tackle such contingencies after “inputs on various terrorist outfits” operating in the maritime domain.

The 140-warship Navy has stepped-up its patrols and deployments by almost 75% over the last one year due to the emerging manifold challenges and the need to show its “footprint” in the IOR and as far as Hawaii and Vladivostok. 

It also comes in the backdrop of Chinese naval forays into the IOR going up “exponentially”, with submarines of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy even openly docking in Colombo. “China is creating maritime infrastructure at various ports around us…We monitor its activities, and their implications, very closely,” said Admiral Dhowan.

China, incidentally, is upset with India’s oil exploration efforts off Vietnam in the South China Sea, even needling Indian warships visiting the region in the past. The joint India-US statement after the Modi-Obama summit in October for the first time had expressed grave concern at the “rising tensions” in South China Sea, asking all to respect freedom of navigation in international waters.

Admiral Dhowan, on his part, said it was the Navy’s responsibility to ensure India’s interests “are allowed to grow unhindered” wherever they may be, either in its primary area of geopolitical interest stretching from the Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait or beyond, both in times of “war and peace”.