Red Sea attacks: Keen to avoid irking Iran, India says it's not part of int'l coalition against Houthis

The Houthis started attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attack by Hamas. The US has been accusing Iran of backing the Houthis who control most areas of Yemen.

New Delhi: Even as 12 nations led by the United States jointly warned the Houthis of the ‘consequences’ if they continued attacking ships sailing through the Red Sea, India on Thursday made it clear that it was not part of any coalition or international initiative against the Iran-backed militants based in Yemen.

Though the Indian Navy has deployed its warships in the central and the northern Arabian Sea to help merchant vessels in case of any attack on them, New Delhi decided to stay away from the international coalition put together by the navies of the United States and the United Kingdom in the wake of the strikes by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

“So far, we are not part of any multilateral initiative or project in the area. So that is where we are. But we are looking at the unfolding situation very closely,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in New Delhi. He, however, added that the Indian Navy ships were patrolling the area.

His comment came a day after the United States, the United Kingdom and 10 other nations called for the immediate end of the “illegal attacks” by the Houthis on the merchant vessels sailing through the Bab-al-Mandeb strait into the Red Sea. “The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” the 12 nations stated in a joint statement released by the White House in Washington DC. 

The Houthis started attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles in response to Israel’s aerial and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. The US has been accusing Iran of backing the Houthis who control most areas of Yemen.

The MV Chem Pluto was in the Arabian Sea on its way to Mangalore in India carrying crude oil from the Al Jubail port in Saudi Arabia when it was hit by a drone on December 23. The incident signalled expanding risk to maritime traffic from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to a wider region – closer to the Exclusive Economic Zone of India. The MV Chem Pluto had 21 Indian citizens and one Vietnamese onboard as crew members.

Tehran already dismissed the US allegation that the drone that had hit MV Chem Pluto had been fired from Iran.  

Another ship, MV Sai Baba, which had a crew of 25 Indians, also had a narrow escape, when it came under attack from the Houthis in the Red Sea on December 24.

In view of the recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy has deployed guided missile destroyers, INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata in various areas to maintain a deterrent presence. Besides, long-range maritime reconnaissance P8I aircraft are being regularly tasked to maintain domain awareness, the Indian Navy stated recently.

“We attach very high importance to freedom of navigation and free movement of commercial shipping. We are looking at the situation. It’s an evolving situation. We are looking at all aspects of it,” Jaiswal said in New Delhi on Wednesday.