Killing of Three sailors in US strike 'unacceptable': India
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Photo: Collected.
India has described as completely "unacceptable" the killing of three Indian nationals in a US Navy airstrike on a commercial vessel carrying Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman.
The country's Ministry of External Affairs expressed strong displeasure, stating that such deadly use of force against a civilian vessel at this sensitive time and amidst the difficult situation in the region undermines the security and stability of international maritime trade.
In response to the incident, the US Acting Ambassador to India, Jason Meeks, was summoned to the ministry and formally protested.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that three Indian citizens have already tragically lost their lives in the US Navy strike. Such deadly use of force is unacceptable in any manner.
The statement also requested that the message urging US forces to take all necessary steps to prevent the loss of civilian lives be conveyed to the US authorities.
India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the incident. Jaishankar told Rubio that such deadly attacks on commercial vessels are "in no way justifiable."
After the phone call with the US Secretary of State on Friday evening, India's External Affairs Minister wrote in a post on social media platform X: "Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening."
"I reiterated India's strong protest over the death of three Indian sailors in the US Navy's strike in the Gulf region. Such lethal actions against commercial vessels are not justifiable in any manner," he added.
Meanwhile, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) has claimed responsibility for the strike. CENTCOM claimed that the tanker was targeted for attempting to transport oil from Iran while defying US Navy instructions.
Source: NDTV