Scorpene data leak: France says it will cooperate with India

Bengaluru, Aug 24 (PTI) France today said it has taken"very seriously" the issue of leak of sensitive documents onadvanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy and wouldwork with India very closely with transparency. As the Scorpene data leak report broke out shaking theIndian defence establishment, French Ambassador AlexandreZiegler said here French authorities were trying to assess theextent, nature and sensitivity of information that may havebeen leaked. "Well, I have seen the report in the press. What can Itell you is that the French authorities are taking the mattervery very seriously and working very seriously with DCNS, the French ship building company," he told reporters at an event organised at Alliance Francaise here. Six Scorpene submarines are being built in collaborationwith French naval contractor DCNS at a cost of USD 3.5billion. The data leak has prompted India to order probe intothe matter. "We (French authorities) are trying to asses the extent;the nature; the sensitivity of information that may have been leaked, and we will do work in this… in very very close cooperation (and) with full transparency with Indian authorities," Ziegler said. Earlier, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said theleak of documents detailing the secret combat capabilities of Scorpene-class submarines was a case of hacking. Australian media reported a leak of 22,400 pages thatenumerate the submarines designed by DCNS for the Indian Navy. Parrikar also has ordered Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lambato go into the entire issue and sought a report from DCNS. The details leaked included what frequencies thesubmarines gather intelligence at, what levels of noise theymake at various speeds and their diving depths, range andendurance – all sensitive information that is highlyclassified, the Australian report said. PTI BDN RA VSZMN