Within the early hours of March 4, a US Navy assault submarine sank an Iranian navy frigate, the IRIS Dena, in worldwide waters roughly 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
The Iranian warship was coming back from a multinational naval train, MILAN 2026, hosted by the Indian army.
A minimum of 87 Iranian sailors have been killed within the assault, which marked a serious escalation within the battle between the US and Iran outdoors of the Persian Gulf.
New Delhi: Sinking of Dena a part of ‘actuality of the Indian Ocean’
The incident sparked backlash in India, with many mentioning that the vessel had been a visitor of the Indian navy. Additionally, whereas the sinking passed off in worldwide waters of the Indian Ocean, it was nonetheless within the space the place India seeks to say maritime management and primacy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Exterior Affairs initially maintained an entire silence on the assault.
Ultimately, International Minister S Jaishankar commented that the sinking was a part of the “actuality of the Indian Ocean.”
“When [Iranian sailors] set out and got here right here, the state of affairs was completely totally different. They have been coming in for a fleet evaluate. After which they received, in a approach, caught on the flawed facet of occasions,” stated Jaishankar.
US strike checks India’s stance on Iran warfare
The restrained public response displays a well-known sample in India’s overseas coverage — avoiding direct criticism of strategic companions even when uncomfortable incidents come up. It additionally matches with India’s diplomatic course on the continuing Iran warfare, with New Delhi avoiding taking sides and calling for restraint, de-escalation and a return to dialogue.
However some in India have offered Modi’s silence as weak point. Opposition events say the federal government is weak to regional crises and demanding condemnation of the US transfer.
“The battle has reached our yard, with an Iranian warship sunk within the Indian Ocean. But the Prime Minister has stated nothing. At a second like this, we’d like a gradual hand on the wheel. As an alternative, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy,” Modi’s rival Rahul Gandhi stated on X.
In flip, International Minister Jaishankar identified that a number of main powers have lengthy been current within the area, together with the US army base on the tiny Diego Garcia island, the Chinese language ships in Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, and numerous overseas forces working from East Africa.
Iran thanked India for sheltering its ships
India’s opposition leaders, together with Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, held demonstrations outdoors the parliament on Monday, carrying a banner that learn, “India wants management, not silence.”
They demanded a parliamentary dialogue over the financial fallout of the escalating Center East disaster, together with rising gas costs in India. Many Indians are additionally left stranded in battle zones within the Gulf area.
Jaishankar instructed lawmakers that India granted emergency docking to a few Iranian vessels.
“The crew is presently in Indian naval services and we imagine this was the fitting factor to do, and the Iranian overseas minister has expressed his nation’s thanks,” he added.
One other Iranian vessel, the IRIS Bushehr, sought refuge at Trincomalee port in Sri Lanka.
The overseas minister additionally instructed the parliament that New Delhi was “making each effort” to convey stranded Indians residence from the Center East.
Who controls the Indian Ocean?
Whereas New Delhi has no authorized or operational mandate to police worldwide waters close to Sri Lanka’s southern coast, specialists say the episode raises uncomfortable questions on India’s skill to handle safety in its speedy neighborhood.
“Regardless of the awkward diplomatic optics for India, the incident in the end illustrates the attain of American undersea warfare,” safety and strategic affairs knowledgeable Commodore Uday Bhaskar instructed DW.
In his view, the sinking of the Dena reinforces a fundamental actuality of maritime energy.
“Management of the oceans rests with those that wield probably the most superior surveillance and underwater ordnance capabilities,” he stated.
Bhaskar warned that — with President Donald Trump in cost — the US will proceed to make use of this functionality “unilaterally.”
In flip, Indian protection strategist Brigadier S Okay Chatterji stated India has playing cards it might play as a naval energy in case of a large-scale disaster, together with interfering with the visitors headed east for the Strait of Malacca, a significant commerce route passing between between Malaysia and Indonesia.
“We’re a considerable power within the Indian Ocean, however we can’t dominate it with our present assets,” Chatterji instructed DW. “Our benefits are geographic. India juts out into the Indian Ocean like a floating deck.”
Iranian ship ‘basically defenseless,’ with no ammo
The assault marked the primary US submarine strike since World Struggle II.
Veteran Indian diplomat and former overseas secretary Kanwal Sibal instructed DW that the strike appeared deliberate as a result of the US knew the Iranian frigate had attended the train and it will be transiting the area afterward.
“The ship was basically defenseless as protocol for such workout routines sometimes dictates that collaborating vessels don’t carry ammunition,” stated Sibal.
“It’s ironic that the naval train known as ‘MILAN’ which basically means ‘coming collectively’ and the US ignored India’s understandings because the ship was in these waters due to our invitation,” he added.
The incident additionally feeds right into a quieter undercurrent in India’s strategic pondering — a way of irritation with Washington that has been constructing for months.
A few of that frustration has centered on stalled negotiations over a bilateral commerce settlement which is but to be concluded.
Feedback by US President Donald Trump claiming he had personally intervened to halt the India-Pakistan battle final 12 months have additionally raised eyebrows in New Delhi.
US ’embarrassed’ India by sinking Iranian frigate
“I’m positive India’s displeasure would have been conveyed, particularly after offering shelter to a touchdown ship in Kochi,” Tara Kartha, a former member of the Nationwide Safety Council Secretariat, instructed DW.
Kartha factors out that India has typically managed to form occasions within the area, although typically quietly and behind the scenes.
Agreements comparable to Logistics Trade Memorandum of Settlement (LEMOA) between the US and India enable the 2 militaries to make use of one another’s services for provides and assist, reflecting the depth of their operational coordination.
“India, as a pleasant nation — although not a ‘consequential companion’ mustn’t have been embarrassed on this style, particularly if the US expects Delhi to cooperate within the Indian Ocean,” she added.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
