New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) For the second time this week, India on Friday summoned US charge d’affaires Jason Meeks and told him that American military’s “lethal and deadly” strikes on commercial vessels with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman are “unacceptable” and they undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce.
Meeks was summoned to the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) a day after the government said three Indian crew members of a tanker were killed in the US action.
Additional Secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu registered a strong protest with Meeks over the US attacks. The senior diplomat was summoned on Wednesday night as well.
“A strong protest was lodged with him regarding the continuing attacks by U.S. naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners in the Gulf of Oman, which have already resulted in the tragic and avoidable loss of three Indian lives,” the MEA said.
The ministry once again “conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping”.
“Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the MEA said.
“The US Charge d’Affaires was requested to convey India’s strong concerns to his authorities and to ensure that U.S. forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent the loss of civilian life,” it said in a statement.
India on Thursday said three merchant ships with Indian crew members came under attack from American military off the coast of Oman this week resulting in the death of three nationals.
It was New Delhi’s first public acknowledgement that US Navy targeted the three ships with Indian crew members.
A Palau-flagged oil tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were safely rescued. On June 10, US struck another Palau-flagged tanker Settebello, killing three out of the 24 Indian sailors on board.
Another vessel ‘Jalveer’, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker with 20 Indians, was attacked on Thursday.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday that the three separate strikes on the Settebello, Marivex and Jalveer “came from the US Navy”.
Jaiswal said two of the three vessels were subject to sanctions administered by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), while another had been classified as non-compliant.
The OFAC is the financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department and it acts against vessels involved in violating US sanctions on the sale of Iranian and Russian oil.
The US Central Command said it initiated action to disable three vessels ‘ Marivex on June 8, Settebello on June 9 and MT Jalveer on June 11 saying they were trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports. PTI
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