ISLAMABAD – The Indian navy said that it had deployed its assets includingINS Vikramaditya and nuclear submarines in northern Arabian sea in the lastweek of February amid tension between India and Pakistan following Pulwamaattack on February 14.

The assets were redeployed from the TROPEX 19 or Theatre Level OperationalReadiness Exercise which is the largest war games of the Indian navy andcommenced on January 7.

The Navy in the release said, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) sponsored attack onthe CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14 led to the rapid redeployment ofthe Indian Navy for Operations in North Arabian Sea.”

“The major combat units of the Indian Navy including the Carrier BattleGroup with INS Vikramaditya, nuclear submarines and scores of other ships,submarines and aircraft swiftly transited from exercise to operationaldeployment mode as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated,” he added.

JeM is a United Nations listed group responsible for the Pulwama attack,the worst attack on Indian security personnel in the last two decades.

Sixty ships of the Indian Navy, 12 ships of the Indian Coast Guard and 60aircraft were part of TROPEX 19.