New Delhi. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has appreciated the important role played by the Indian Navy in anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean region. He praised the Navy while discussing with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh over phone on Monday. The two ministers briefly discussed issues of bilateral, regional security and defense cooperation.
According to the Defense Ministry, he reviewed recent bilateral events such as the Indus-X summit held in New Delhi in February 2024 and the tri-services bilateral exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’, which began in India on March 18, 2024.
The two ministers discussed ways and means to implement the India-US Defense Cooperation Roadmap concluded last year. Other defense industrial cooperation issues such as repair of US naval ships in Indian shipyards were also briefly discussed. The last meeting between the two took place in New Delhi in November 2023 during the India-US ministerial two plus two talks.
Navy rescues hijacked ship from Somali pirates
It is noteworthy that the Indian Navy, displaying its bravery, not only captured 35 pirates from Somalia in an operation, but also freed 17 hostages held by them. The Navy on March 16 captured the Malta-flagged merchant vessel (MV) Rouen, about 2,600 km east of the Indian coast, in a well-coordinated operation.
Regarding this operation, experts said that this is the first successful operation to rescue a ship from Somalia’s pirates in the last seven years. The Navy deployed INS Kolkata and INS Subhadra and Sea Guardian drones during the nearly 40-hour operation. Exclusive Marcos commandos were launched from C-17 aircraft for the operation.
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Tags: indian navy, Indian Ocean, Rajnath Singh, United States
FIRST PUBLISHED: March 18, 2024, 23:28 IST