Disrespect shown must be addressed diplomatically: Tharoor on US Navy's operation in India's EEZ

April 14, 2021 14:49

The US did not break international law when its Navy ship carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone last week, but it did show "disrespect" which must be addressed diplomatically, senior Congress leader and former UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday.

India on Friday had conveyed concerns to the United States over its Navy ship carrying out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ). India's reaction came after the US Navy, in an unusual move, announced that one of its ships conducted patrols in the Indian EEZ on April 7, without seeking consent from India.

Responding to the episode, Tharoor put out a series of tweets in which he argued that the best way forward was for India to extract an explicit undertaking from the US to inform it in advance as a courtesy before undertaking such operations and not to publicise the "fact that they have thumbed their noses at us".

"There's understandable anger in India over the US Seventh Fleet sailing near Lakshadweep in waters that are part of our exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, there is nothing in UNCLOS (the Law of the Sea) that supports India's stand on freedom of navigation through the EEZ," he said.

The Americans are essentially doing near Lakshadweep exactly what they are insisting on doing in and through the South China Sea under the same Freedom of Navigation principle (FoNoPs), Tharoor said. The US can be accused of not respecting our sensibilities but not of breaking international law, the former Union minister said. -- PTI

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