When a US submarine put two torpedoes into IRIS Dena in March, just 20 nautical miles off Galle in Sri Lanka, merely days after the ship had been our guest at the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam, the IT selliyas swarmed anyone who asked why Delhi was silent. "The ship shouldn't have ventured out during a war", "It was international waters, India's EEZ ends at 200 nm", "Why was it heading towards Lanka anyway", "It was a US-sanctioned vessel since 2023, so fair game", "Not our war, why burn capital with Washington over an Iranian frigate". 87 bodies came out of the water and our official position was barely a shrug.
Three months later the same navy is putting missiles into commercial tankers crewed by Indians. Settebello off Oman, three of our sailors dead, the chief engineer still missing. Jalveer the very next day, crew evacuated off a burning ship, and this time our own MEA is saying on record the US Navy did it. Our escalation ladder has gone from silence to summoning a Chargé d'Affaires.
At every step the apologists found a technicality, and at every step the price of finally standing up went higher. 56 inch rhetoric works at a rally. At sea everyone can now see the red lines were never real.
As US Navy is hunting down one vessel after another with Indian crew members, it is time to realise why people like me objected to GoI's lame reaction to US Navy's aggressive moves through our EEZ around Lakshadweep and sinking of Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena in Indian Ocean. Those who argued at that time that Indian Ocean in not Indian should be ashamed of themselves. You allow a robber to rob in your neighborhood, your house could be the next one.