India on Friday called US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks and told him that the US military’s deadly attacks on merchant ships with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman is unacceptable. The senior diplomat was also summoned on Wednesday night.
A Palau-flagged oil tanker, the Marivex, with 24 Indian sailors on board, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were rescued safely. On June 10, the US rammed another Palau-flagged tanker, the Settebello, killing three of the 24 Indian sailors on board. Another vessel, the Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker carrying 20 Indians, was attacked on Thursday.
After the Jalveer attack, India said three merchant ships with Indian crew members were attacked by the US military off the coast of Oman this week, resulting in the deaths of three nationals.
It was New Delhi’s first public admission that the US Navy had targeted the three ships with Indian crew members.
After Meeks was summoned on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said a “strong protest” had been lodged with him over the ongoing attacks by US naval forces on merchant ships carrying Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman.
The ministry said it once again “conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and lethal force against civilian vessels”.
(With data from PTI)
