NEW DELHI – Amid political uncertainty in the Gulf region, India has joinedhands with Saudi Arabia and France to secure shipping routes in the Westernand Southern Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy had to rush warships andaircraft to the Persian Gulf in August to undertake maritime securityoperations amid tensions between the US and Iran.
India has announced it is to conduct a first-ever naval exercise with SaudiArabia next March, as part of deepening maritime strength in the westernIndian Ocean. The Western Indian Ocean constitutes highly sensitiveshipping routes such as the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, theGulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf.
The two countries will hold their first-ever joint naval exercises in thefirst week of March 2020, Indian officials said after the conclusion of atwo-day visit to Riyadh by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “SaudiArabia is keen on collaborating with India in the Red Sea or the IndianOcean at large,” an official added.
The two countries have also decided to work together with other IndianOcean Rim Countries to enhance maritime security. India and Saudi Arabiahave signed a pact for the establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council(SPC). India is the fourth country with which Saudi Arabia has formed sucha strategic partnership, after the UK, France and China.
This comes after French President, Emmanuel Macron, during his firstpresidential visit to the French overseas territories, announced that “apatrol aircraft from the Indian Navy will be deployed at Reunion toparticipate in surveillance missions in the first quarter of 2020”.
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Earlier this month, India signed a defence co-operation agreement withComoros – located at the mouth of the Mozambique Channel- under which NewDelhi gifted the country interceptor boats worth $2 million and extended a$20 million line of credit for the procurement of high-speed interceptorboats.
In mid-September, rising crude oil prices after the drone attack on SaudiAramco facilities put stress on Indian refiners and India had to approachcountries like Russialinktoprovide uninterrupted supplies of energy for its requirements.
Saudi Arabia’s oil processing facilities were hit by drone strikeslink,temporarily cutting the country’s output in half, with Saudi Aramco sayingproduction won’t be fully restored until November. Yemen’s Houthi militiaclaimed responsibility for the strikes, but Washington and Riyadh haveblamed Tehran. Iran denies the claims, Sputnik has reported.
