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2015-10-01
INDIA, UAE’S STRONG NAVAL TIES
The Indian Navy works extremely closely with its counterpart in the UAE. They have been particularly successful combating the scourge of piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The UAE has also chaired the powerful Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, initiated by India, that was launched in 2008 as the 21st century’s first significant international maritime security initiative. The Indian warship INS Delhi(Destroyer) has been in the UAE with INS Trishul (Frigate), INS Tabar (Frigate) and INS Deepak (Tanker) as part of a Gulf tour. NATION SHIELD spoke to INS Delhi Captain KARTHIK KRISHNAN in this exclusive interview.
By Sakha Pramod
Indian ships are on a friendly visit to the UAE. Can you tell us more about you and the ship you command?
I was commissioned in the Indian Navy in July 1989 and so I have been in service for more than 26 years. I am a communications and electronic warfare specialist and this is my third sea command. I have earlier commanded a missile boat, a missile corvette and now I am commanding a guided missile destroyer, INS Delhi. I also have experience in serving at the Naval Headquarters in personnel as well as staff requirements.
Coming to the current mission, INS Delhi belongs to the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy which is under the operational authority of the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Western Naval Command who exercises control of the ships under it. INS Delhi is one of the frontline destroyers of the Western Fleet. The ship was commissioned in 1997.
Essentially the navy has four roles, which are military, diplomatic, constabulary and benign. So this ship fulfills all these roles in a manner required by the fleet commander and is ready to do any task any time anywhere. The ship is equipped with weaponry, missiles and helicopters to do this job as required by the Navy. It has a compliment of approximately 40 officers and 350 men to discharges its duties.
Coming to the current mission, INS Delhi belongs to the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy which is under the operational authority of the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Western Naval Command who exercises control of the ships under it. INS Delhi is one of the frontline destroyers of the Western Fleet. The ship was commissioned in 1997.
Essentially the navy has four roles, which are military, diplomatic, constabulary and benign. So this ship fulfills all these roles in a manner required by the fleet commander and is ready to do any task any time anywhere. The ship is equipped with weaponry, missiles and helicopters to do this job as required by the Navy. It has a compliment of approximately 40 officers and 350 men to discharges its duties.
Can you tell us about your current visit to the UAE?
As I said the navy has a diplomatic role and there is a direct linkage between the Indian Navy and the foreign cooperation initiatives of the Indian Navy. So the Indian Navy in its diplomatic role regularly visits countries on overseas deployment and this is one such mission wherein four ships of the Western Fleet have been deployed to the Arabian Gulf.
Would you be conducting joint training exercises with the UAE Navy?
Whenever we deploy to foreign countries we have an agreement to conduct what is called ‘passage exercises’ or the passex with the host country. We had meeting for the conducting of these exercises with the UAE Navy and one ship of the UAE Navy will be exercising with INS Delhi and INS Trishul for a few hours and then we will be leaving Dubai for our next port of call. These exercises are regularly held whenever our ships visit the foreign ports.
India and the UAE are members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. How important is it and do you think it has helped information exchange between the two countries?
Just to give a brief on the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, this was launched in February 2008 as the 21st century’s first significant international maritime security initiative.
As you are aware, there are 35 littoral states in the Indian Ocean region and what the Indian Navy was seeking was to provide a forum where the chiefs of the navies or of the equivalent maritime agencies of all these littoral states could periodically meet to constructively engage with each other.
As India took this initiative, the first such meeting was held at New Delhi in 2008 and thereafter UAE took the chair from 2010 to 2012. It has promoted a shared understanding of all maritime issues facing the states of the Indian Ocean. It has also helped in establishing a variety of multinational maritime collaborations. The last such meeting was held in Australia in 2014. Australia will be in chair till 2016 and then it will shift to Bangladesh.
As you are aware, there are 35 littoral states in the Indian Ocean region and what the Indian Navy was seeking was to provide a forum where the chiefs of the navies or of the equivalent maritime agencies of all these littoral states could periodically meet to constructively engage with each other.
As India took this initiative, the first such meeting was held at New Delhi in 2008 and thereafter UAE took the chair from 2010 to 2012. It has promoted a shared understanding of all maritime issues facing the states of the Indian Ocean. It has also helped in establishing a variety of multinational maritime collaborations. The last such meeting was held in Australia in 2014. Australia will be in chair till 2016 and then it will shift to Bangladesh.
Could you tell us about joint efforts between the UAE and India to combat maritime piracy?
As you know the Gulf of Aden was the hotbed of piracy and the Indian Navy took the initiative along with other countries to fight piracy in the region. There have been substantial activities that have taken place in the realms of anti-piracy. Today we can proudly say that piracy off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden is more or less negligible. The coordination of anti-piracy operations is done with a number of countries. It is called the shared awareness and de-confliction (SHADE).
This mechanism was established in 2009 so that everybody is aware of the forces which are operating in the Gulf of Aden and thus can take action to counter piracy. So thereafter the convoy schedules have been made so that all merchant ships are escorted to their designated places so as to avoid being attacked by pirates.
This mechanism was established in 2009 so that everybody is aware of the forces which are operating in the Gulf of Aden and thus can take action to counter piracy. So thereafter the convoy schedules have been made so that all merchant ships are escorted to their designated places so as to avoid being attacked by pirates.
As of now there is no bilateral effort or patrols between India and the UAE but we are always willing to work with UAE Navy. I am aware that UAE is doing much to combat piracy. UAE has been advocating a collective international effort to combat maritime piracy, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
The UAE Minister of Economy HE Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri who headed the UAE delegation to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (Iora)14th Council of Ministers Meeting in Perth last year made the suggestion.
The UAE Minister of Economy HE Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri who headed the UAE delegation to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (Iora)14th Council of Ministers Meeting in Perth last year made the suggestion.
The UAE-led rescue mission in 2011, in coordination with the US Fifth Fleet, successfully stormed and freed the crew of the MV Arrilah-I. Pirates captured in that incident were prosecuted. UAE has also donated generously to the $5 million (D18.4 million) raised to replenish a UN anti-piracy fund founded in 2010. The mechanism which the Indian Navy follows is part of a combined effort.
Normally how many countries take part at a time in this anti piracy patrol?
The convoy schedules are worked out between the countries namely China, Japan, India and Korea. The schedule is also posted on the Maritime Security Center, Horn of Africa website. So every ship which is transiting the Gulf of Aden is aware who is going to escort them and what their schedule is.
So they plan their movements accordingly. This has made that region very safe now. It is fully coordinated now and the Indian Navy provides a ship 24/7, 365 days for antipiracy.
So they plan their movements accordingly. This has made that region very safe now. It is fully coordinated now and the Indian Navy provides a ship 24/7, 365 days for antipiracy.
Can you tell us about any at-sea missions INS Delhi has carried out recently?
As I said we have four roles. Our military role requires us to constantly train through exercises and prepare ourselves. The most recent exercise or the diplomatic exercise we undertook before coming to Arabian Gulf was when INS Delhi went to Mauritius when the national day of Mauritius was jointly hosted.
It coincided with the handing over of Mauritian Coast Guard Ship ‘Barracuda’ which was built at the Garden Reach Shipyard at Kolkota. We also participated in the national day celebrations and took part in that very prestigious event at Port Louis in March this year.
It coincided with the handing over of Mauritian Coast Guard Ship ‘Barracuda’ which was built at the Garden Reach Shipyard at Kolkota. We also participated in the national day celebrations and took part in that very prestigious event at Port Louis in March this year.
What according to you is the major change in naval combat systems in the last decade?
I would say that naval combat systems have evolved in the last decade in complexity as well as in technology. The major requirement of our combat systems is to be integrated on ship. The biggest challenge is to have seamless integration between all the weapon systems of the ship.
In my opinion combat system integration has been a challenge. We can have very good stand alone systems which fire very well or are excellent. But to integrate them for providing the awareness to the commander at sea is the biggest challenge.
In my opinion combat system integration has been a challenge. We can have very good stand alone systems which fire very well or are excellent. But to integrate them for providing the awareness to the commander at sea is the biggest challenge.
Where are you heading next?
We are part of the overseas deployment to the Araban Gulf so we are headed to the ports of Al Jubail, Manama, Doha, Kuwait and Muscat. Then we go back to Mumbai.
Could you outline the Indian Navy’s role in Yemen?
As you are aware when the situation was becoming bad in Yemen where there were a large number of Indians, a decision was taken in March end to deploy the Indian Navy to rescue and bring back the Indian citizens in conjunction with the Air Force, merchant shipping and Air India. It was a challenging task which was well coordinated.
The operation was called “Operation Rahat”. There were three ships which took part in this exercise to evacuate Indian nationals.
They were INS Sumitra, INS Mumbai which is sister ship, the same class as INS Delhi and INS Tarkash. These three ships were deployed to enter to ports at Aden and close to 3200 people, not only Indian nationals but citizens of 21 countries were evacuated to Djibouti and thereafter they proceeded to either their own countries or India. It was a very challenging task for the Indian navy but was met with absolute confidence.
The operation was called “Operation Rahat”. There were three ships which took part in this exercise to evacuate Indian nationals.
They were INS Sumitra, INS Mumbai which is sister ship, the same class as INS Delhi and INS Tarkash. These three ships were deployed to enter to ports at Aden and close to 3200 people, not only Indian nationals but citizens of 21 countries were evacuated to Djibouti and thereafter they proceeded to either their own countries or India. It was a very challenging task for the Indian navy but was met with absolute confidence.
What do you think of UAE’s role in humanitarian assistance?
I am aware that development and humanitarian assistance is a crucial aspect of the UAE’s foreign policy. H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has continued this policy of his late father Sheikh Zayed based on his conviction that: ‘Humanitarian diplomacy is one of the main pillars of our foreign policy, and our country will continue to support international efforts to respond to disasters and answer the call for relief.’ UAE is one of the biggest donors internationally.
During the floods that hit Kashmir last year the UAE Embassy in India and the Indian Red Cross Society were at the forefront of help the Residents of Kashmir.
During the floods that hit Kashmir last year the UAE Embassy in India and the Indian Red Cross Society were at the forefront of help the Residents of Kashmir.
Other thoughts?
India is hosting the international fleet review in February 2016 at Vishakhapatnam. The last such international fleet review was held in 2001 at Mumbai. India has extended invitation to 79 countries including the UAE. We look forward to successfully bringing together navies of as many as countries as possible.
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