The US Navy has conducted an operation in Indian waters without informing India. The US Navy has conducted a “freedom of navigation patrols” in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without getting consent from India. US Navy has confirmed that it had sent its warship near the Lakshadweep islands to conduct the patrol.
The US Navy regularly conducts such patrols in South China Sea. These patrols were conducted to challenge the claims by China government over the South China Sea. But this is for the first time that US is conducting such patrol in India waters. The Indian government has yet not reacted to this.
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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,” US Navy’s 7th Fleet note said.
The 7th Fleet has a history with India. It is infamous for sailing into the waters of the Bay of Bengal in 1971, when the war for Bangladesh’s liberation was underway.
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