Onlykashmir.in News Desk
In an unusually sharp diplomatic démarche, India on Friday summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and lodged a formal, strongly-worded protest against continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman that have resulted in the deaths of Indian crew members. The protest marks one of the most direct confrontations between New Delhi and Washington in recent diplomatic memory.
The Ministry of External Affairs expressed deep concern over the use of lethal military force against civilian shipping, confirming that three Indian nationals serving as mariners aboard commercial vessels in the region have already lost their lives as a result of these attacks. Describing the actions as unacceptable, India made clear that the targeting of civilian vessels operating in international waters poses a serious threat to the safety and security of global maritime commerce.
New Delhi’s position was categorical: civilian vessels and their crews must not, under any circumstances, be subjected to military action, regardless of the broader geopolitical context in which such operations are taking place. India called on the United States to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that its forces prevent any further loss of civilian life and actively safeguard the security of commercial shipping in the region.
The diplomatic protest carries particular weight given the depth of the India-US strategic partnership, which has grown substantially over the past decade across defence, technology, and trade domains. The killing of Indian mariners has made it impossible for New Delhi to remain silent, even in the face of the broader US strategic posture in the region — widely understood to be linked to naval operations connected to the Iran standoff.
India’s maritime community, which contributes hundreds of thousands of seafarers to global shipping, has been alarmed by the incidents. Indian mariners form a significant portion of the crews of commercial vessels operating across the Indian Ocean and Gulf regions, making the security of international maritime corridors a matter of direct national concern for New Delhi.
