Raisina Dialogue: Allowing IRIS LAWAN to stay in Kochi is a humane decision, Jaishankar said, there is nothing wrong in it
Delhi. Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has rejected questions being raised on India’s decision to allow Iranian warship IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi port, saying that it is a decision taken on humanitarian grounds, beyond the purely legal complications, which he thinks is right.
While participating in the panel discussion on ‘Future of the Indian Ocean’ on the third and final day of the prestigious Raisina Dialogue here on Saturday, Dr. Jaishankar, in response to questions, said that the decision to stop the Iranian warship at Kochi port has been taken on special circumstances and humanitarian grounds and should not be weighed in legal nuances.
He said Iran’s three warships IRIS Dena, IRIS Lavan and IRIS Bushehr had come to Visakhapatnam last month to participate in the Navy’s International Fleet Review Ceremony and Reconciliation Exercise and were later in the Indian Ocean. This statement from India comes two days after the US Navy attack on an Iranian warship IRIS Dena.
The External Affairs Minister said, “As far as the willingness of the ship to come in is concerned, they were in difficulties. I think it was right to help them from a humanitarian point of view. We looked at the matter simply and from a humanitarian point of view and not just from the point of view of legal issues.” He said that like India, Sri Lanka has also given permission to dock the Iranian warship.
Narrating the incident, he said, “At that time the ship wanted to come to the waters closest to the port. There were reports that they were having problems. As per my knowledge, this happened on the 28th, and on March 1 we said OK, you can come. Then it took a few days for them to come.”
He said that when these warships came here the situation was completely different but things were developing rapidly and independently and they got caught here at the wrong turn of events. When asked how India is a major security provider in the Indian Ocean and how it should be viewed if a warship is attacked in the Indian Ocean, the External Affairs Minister said, “Now the question is what effect does this have on India’s position as a “net security provider” in the region. I think there is a lot of debate going on on this topic on social media at the moment.
Social media by its nature is a platform where very sharp, inclined and sometimes extreme views are expressed.” Dr. Jaishankar said that the Indian Ocean is not limited only to the countries bordering the Indian Ocean. He said, “Understand the reality of the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia has been present in the Indian Ocean for the last five decades.
The deployment of foreign military forces in Djibouti began in the beginning of the first decade of this century. Hambantota was also built during the same period.” He said that there has been a presence of foreign forces in the Indian Ocean since the first decade of this century. Therefore, it is not correct to believe that the Indian Ocean is limited only to those countries which are adjacent to it.
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