Shipping lanes in Indian Ocean should remain secure: India

NEW DELHI: India said today that it would be in China’s interest that the shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean remain secure and asserted that the Indian Navy was keeping an eye on its key maritime areas.

In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the Navy’s deployments in the Indian Ocean have been “further structured” under the new mission based deployment (MBD) concept.

He said China had operationalised its overseas base at Djibouti in August last year to provide operational turn around (OTR) facilities for ships on anti-piracy missions.

“China largely depends on the oil imports transiting through the Indian Ocean. It would be in China’s interest that shipping lanes and traffic in the Indian Ocean remain secure,” he said.

Bhamre said the Indian Navy maintains regular presence and surveillance in the maritime areas of its interest. (AGENCIES)

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