New Delhi raises concerns after US Navy broke Indian maritime rules

NewsBharati    10-Apr-2021
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New Delhi, April 10: Taking a stand against the US, India expressed concerns to the United States after US Navy  broke Indian maritime rules and conducts FONOP freedom of navigation operation inside India’s EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone without seeking its consent.
 
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“India”s stated position on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is that the convention does not authorise other States to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone and on the continental shelf, military exercises or maneuvers, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal State,” the strongly-worded statement by the MEA said.
 
 

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“The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the government of the USA through diplomatic channels,” the MEA said.
 
 
US Navy boasted that one of its ships conducted patrols in the Indian EEZ this week without India’s consent. On Friday Pentagon defended its Navy asserting its navigational rights within India's exclusive economic zone without taking New Delhi's permission, calling the move "consistent with international law". US Navy’s boastful announcement raises eyebrows. US navy's this step can sour the ties with India.
 
 
US John Paul Jones is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer of the US Navy. The USS John Paul Jones had transited from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Straits and had passed through the Indian EEZ off the Lakshwadeep Islands in this process. The ship is currently part of Destroyer Squadron 23 of the Carrier Strike Group 9, which in turn is part of the Seventh Fleet that is controlled by the United States Pacific Fleet.
 
The statement said, “On April 7, 2021 (local time) USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone, without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with international law.”
 


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“India requires prior consent for military exercises or maneuvers in its exclusive economic zone or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (“FONOP”) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims,” it added.
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