India’s ministry of exterior affairs (MEA) issued a pointy “pretend information alert” after a viral social media publish claimed that the USA had sought India’s permission to make use of its territory to launch navy operations in opposition to Iran. The clarification got here by way of the MEA’s official fact-check account on the social media website X.
The viral declare originated from a journalist who alleged that the US was exploring the usage of western India below the Logistics Change Memorandum of Settlement (LEMOA) framework to assist a navy asset. The publish additional speculated a few attainable offshore deployment close to the Konkan coast, linking it to the continued battle between Iran and the US.
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Nevertheless, the MEA dismissed the assertions, indicating that no such growth has taken place. “Faux Information Alert! Please keep alert in opposition to such false and baseless claims and posts on social media!” the MEA’s publish acknowledged.
This was in response to Dutta’s publish which learn: “Breaking Information: The US has requested permission from India to assist a navy asset that will likely be used to bomb Iran from Western India. In bureaucratic phrases it means an interpretation of the LEMOA.”
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“No Indian Navy berth is lengthy sufficient to host an plane provider that’s the dimension of 9 soccer fields from house objective to a Romario kick. So, it is going to be at anchorage whereas the galleys (kitchens) will likely be stuffed up. The US navy asset will likely be at anchorage off the Konkan coast,” he additional wrote.
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What’s LEMOA?
The Logistics Change Memorandum of Settlement (LEMOA) is a bilateral logistics pact signed in 2016 between India and the USA. It permits the armed forces of each international locations to entry one another’s navy amenities for refuelling, restore, provides, and relaxation on a reimbursable foundation.
It, nonetheless, doesn’t allow basing of troops or automated navy operations from one another’s soil, and each request requires a case-by-case approval.
How international locations use one other nation’s territory for navy motion
International locations could use one other nation’s territory for navy operations by way of formal agreements or advert hoc permissions.
These embody Standing of Forces Agreements (SOFA), logistics pacts like LEMOA, or broader defence treaties such because the US-Philippines Mutual Protection Treaty and NATO frameworks below NATO.
For instance, the US used bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait throughout the Gulf Battle, and operated from Turkey’s Incirlik base throughout the Iraq Battle. Such use is determined by host nation consent, strategic alignment, and authorized frameworks with operational limits in place.
