Could India block Pakistani ports in case of a war?

[ArcaniusXI]

Whoever is thinking about this question has to provide a valid reason of why India would initiate an attack?...What is the benifit or objective for any war to be initiated from India?...Unless some one can come up with rational answer, rest of the analysis is futile.

It was a hypothetical question asking if India could blockade Pakistani ports in case a war breaks out for whatever reason, how hard is it to understand that??

 

[Trango Towers]

That is what India will do first....block Pakistan's trade line there by squeezing its economy and in turn weakening the Pakistan's ability to sustain a long war with India.

Of course And Pakistan will let you do that. Bombay stock exchange and port will be history. 10 men sleeps cells may already be in every city. During war you may have more to deal with than an external enemy.

 

[Basel]

Please don't jump to conclusions before even I've explained. To be honest, I don't think you will get anything out off my post except, possibly, the chance of scoring some points in an imaginary duel between you and Indian posters. That pisses me off. I will not answer bombastic fanboy posts. Your choice.



This is not my substantive post, which is still a few minutes of baking time away (vanilla cake; 18 minutes done, another 17 to go).

So help me understand this (to parody one of my own earlier posts): The IN can't suppress the PN, because the PN can't be suppressed by the IN. In any case, the cruise missile capability of the PN ensures that the IN will be at the losers' end, and the IN will struggle against the PN, which will make the IN struggle all the more.

It sounds quite brilliant, and I bow my head in homage. RIP.

IN is not mighty enough to put a blockade of a nuclear power.

 

[Joe Shearer]

The legality of this move is not in question. It is very much a legal instrument of war and some may even defend this move as amongst more better moves to end wars.

Anyhow awaiting your analysis. Legal aspects as well as military tactics in this move.


We do need defensive systems. @waz wouldn't you call it ironic and funny that we are a defensive army with a defensive doctrine yet our defensive technology and capability had a lot to be desired. We are lacking in naval, missile and air defences.

Do take a look at the weird posts that were made after I mentioned that this is possible. It was to those chairborn warriors, who will not look at an analytical point of view as analysis, but insist on taking it as a personal point of honour to deny all negative possibilities with the greatest violence of language, that I am addressing my preliminary remarks.

To continue...

 

[saiyan0321]

Do take a look at the weird posts that were made after I mentioned that this is possible. It was to those chairborn warriors, who will not look at an analytical point of view as analysis, but insist on taking it as a personal point of honour to deny all negative possibilities with the greatest violence of language, that I am addressing my preliminary remarks.

To continue...

Yes there are some questionable posts. This is why I tagged Oscar. He tells blunt truth about our capabilities which are a good reality check and yes @MastanKhan as well. He made great points on blunders by our air force on procurements...

Anyhow I am of the opinion that its possible but not without costs that may outweigh the objective.

Which is exactly why I want other point of views here to understand where I am right and wrong. I said it before and I will say it again. I am no expert nor do I pretend to be one.


Can India blockade pakistan? Yes. The question I am interested in is

How costly will that endeavor be and would it outweigh the objective or not?

This is why I look forward to your analysis. Do tag me plz when you post it here.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Yes there are some questionable posts. This is why I tagged Oscar. He tells blunt truth about our capabilities which are a good reality check and yes @MastanKhan as well. He made great points on blunders by our air force on procurements...

Anyhow I am of the opinion that its possible but not without costs that may outweigh the objective.

Which is exactly why I want other point of views here to understand where I am right and wrong. I said it before and I will say it again. I am no expert nor do I pretend to be one.


Can India blockade pakistan? Yes. The question I am interested in is

How costly will that endeavor be and would it outweigh the objective or not?

This is why I look forward to your analysis. Do tag me plz when you post it here.

I will - on each post.

Reasons for delay - just baked a cake.

I am very reluctantly quoting from Wikipedia as it is unseemly to take more help than I already have from NALSAR and its excellent library.

A blockade is an effort to cut off supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade. It is also distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city. While most blockades historically took place at sea, blockade is still used on land to prevent someone coming into a certain area.

A blockading power can seek to cut off all maritime transport from and to the blockaded country; although stopping all land transport to and from an area may also be considered a blockade. Blockades restrict the trading rights of neutrals, who must submit for inspection for contraband, which the blockading power may define narrowly or broadly, sometimes including food and medicine. In the 20th century air power has also been used to enhance the effectiveness of the blockade by halting air traffic within the blockaded airspace.

Close patrol of hostile ports, in order to prevent naval forces from putting to sea, is also referred to as a blockade. When coastal cities or fortresses were besieged from the landward side, the besiegers would often blockade the seaward side as well. Most recently, blockades have sometimes included cutting off electronic communications by jamming radio signals and severing undersea cables.

@saiyan0321

A blockade is a recognised and legitimate method of waging war.

A major problem with wars and conducting war in Asia is that commanders and soldiers alike completely disregard the rules of war, and what is legitimate or what is illegitimate. That is why, sometimes, a war between two Asian countries takes on an uncanny resemblance to a riot. In the case of India and Pakistan being in warlike conditions (but not having declared war formally), all rules are blasted away, and what ensues is indeed a special kind of riot: a communal riot.

However, over centuries, the west has evolved rules to govern the conduct of war; that it will discipline armies and individual soldiers for violation of these rules is sufficient to keep a kind of check on the activities of battling armies.

There are several varieties of blockade, and these are described below. I will proceed to emphasise one of these three types, the 'loose blockades'.

Close, distant, and loose blockades
A close blockade entails placing warships within sight of the blockaded coast or port, to ensure the immediate interception of any ship entering or leaving. It is both the most effective and the most difficult form of blockade to implement. Difficulties arise because the blockading ships must remain continuously at sea, exposed to storms and hardship, usually far from any support, and vulnerable to sudden attack from the blockaded side, whose ships may stay safe in harbor until they choose to come out.

In a distant blockade, the blockaders stay well away from the blockaded coast and try to intercept any ships going in or out. This may require more ships on station, but they can usually operate closer to their bases, and are at much less risk from enemy raids. This was almost impossible prior to the 16th century due to the nature of the ships used.

A loose blockade is a close blockade where the blockading ships are withdrawn out of sight from the coast (behind the horizon) but no farther. The object of loose blockade is to lure the enemy into venturing out but to stay close enough to strike.

British admiral Horatio Nelson applied a loose blockade at Cádiz in 1805. The Franco-Spanish fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve then came out, resulting in the Battle of Trafalgar.

@saiyan0321

Previous note refers, about close, distant and loose blockades.

 

[Azadkashmir]

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

My point is that we have scorpenes, boomers and flat tops and stealth frigates, a force that pakistan cannot afford. Our navy surpasses that of pakistan both in terms of quality and quantity.

all this and still you cant enforce and produce effects of a blockade. All those vessels will be a gambit for our babur.
Pakistan has its strategic reserves, road infrastructure with neighbors, worlds biggest oil/gas producers as strategic allies. We have a port on the mouth of Persian gulf.The problem is you are still living in the 70s, things have changed having a blockade will be expensive and will not yield the require results.your vessels will run out of fuel while Pakistan will continue having a smooth fuel supply.

 

[Kaniska]

It was a hypothetical question asking if India could blockade Pakistani ports in case a war breaks out for whatever reason, how hard is it to understand that??

It is very hard to understand because the objective of your war will decide if the blockade will be executed..

 

[Areesh]

The problem is you are still living in the 70s, things have changed having a blockade will be expensive and will not yield the require results.your vessels will run out of fuel while Pakistan will continue having a smooth fuel supply.

Exactly this.

Naval blockade sounds good to ears but its worth and effectiveness in Indo pak scenario is eroding fast with each passing year. With PN spending more than ever in procurement or developing new systems and Gwadar getting completed people need to get out of this 70's or 80's thingy.

 

[Fawad alam]

Dear, Naval blockade is not possible properly and this thread is useless ,
Just watch that is happening in Yemen war, even after blockade against very weak opponent.

 

[Sugarcane]

By the time IN will do the blockade, the war will be over.

 

[That Guy]

I did, and this evening, I hope to explain why and how. Provided that you and others understand that I am embarking on an academic exercise. The younger elements of your Pakistani membership tend to shoot all messengers. Like Oscar, Kaptaan and Khafee, I am opposed to war in any form or shape or size.

I look forward to your views, please tag me

 

[Hamza913]

If successful, this would starve us of our fuel reserves and be devastating for a long war. How could Pakistan prevent this taking in to account their navy is objectively stronger?

Hindustan can't do that, simple as.

 

[Imad.Khan]

Before i start i want to advise everyone to stay calm and rational, why do people have to be abusive instead of trying to convey their opinion on the matter?

Anyway, the question being asked can India block Pakistani ports in case of war.......the simple answer is yes it can but on saying that it would be alot harder and potentially very costly. In 1971 Pakistan only had ports in Karachi, today Pakistan has multiple ports in different cities. So to block them all India will need to commit alot of resources and with higher risk as compared to 1971. Below is the map of current ports, both civilian and Naval.

GREEN are active ports and RED ports are either in construction or planning stage.

So as you can see from the above map, it will not be easy to block all the ports, they might be able to block Karachi only, but that will not achieve much as Pakistan will be able to ship goods from other ports.

Hope that makes sense, and let me know if i missed something.