India said it had allowed an Iranian naval vessel, the IRIS Lavan, to dock at one of its ports just days before the Persian Gulf frigate was sunk by a United States submarine.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said allowing the Iranian ship to dock when it faced obstacles was the “humane thing” at the time. He added that the vessel was scheduled to arrive for a fleet inspection but ended up being “caught on the wrong side of events”.
Jaishankar said he supported the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law, adding that India had received a message from the Iranian side stating that one of its ships, believed to be closest to India’s maritime borders at the time, was seeking permission to enter an Indian port due to reported technical problems.
He said India approved the request on March 1, after which the vessel took several days to arrive and finally docked in Kochi. Jaishankar also noted that there were many young cadets on board and noted that the situation had changed significantly between the ship’s departure and arrival in India.
He went on to say: “They were coming to inspect the fleet and then they got on the wrong side of events… One obviously had a similar situation in Sri Lanka, they accepted the decision they made and unfortunately one of them didn’t… We approached the situation from a humane point of view, apart from any legal issues, and I think we did the right thing.”
He mentioned that there was extensive debate on the issue on social media, but emphasized that long-term strategic developments in the Indian Ocean must be taken into account. Jaishankar pointed out that Diego Garcia has been present in the region for approximately five decades. He also said that the presence of foreign military forces in Djibouti dates back to the early years of this century, with the port of Hambantota also emerging during this period.
According to an Indian official, Tehran approached New Delhi on February 28 seeking urgent permission for the IRIS Lavan vessel to dock, citing technical problems, Bloomberg reported. The request was approved on March 1 and the ship has been stationed in Kochi since Wednesday. The official added that 183 crew members of the vessel are currently being accommodated in marine facilities in the city.
The docking occurred at a sensitive moment. Earlier this week, the United States sank the IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka as the vessel was returning from participating in an international naval exercise hosted by India. The attack reportedly left more than 100 sailors missing or presumed dead.
