Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar interview (VIDEO)

[Indo-guy]

You don't have to release it to the media, but if you claim you have proof, the minimum one can expect, is an official complaint to the Pakistani government! Since that didn't happened and the government has no other proof to make it evident that there were actual terrorists on the vessel, let alone that there was a link to Pakistan, it's the government that is in the weak position!
It is the job of the media to keep an eye on the government, so asking for evidence of the claims is not wrong. Sure they didn't really expected to get the intercepts, but there must be some reasoning for official statements, otherwise the government shouldn't had made them in the first place.



Depends on the case, if the release will make
covert operations or sources vulnerable.

so do you think that Karan thapar was right in pointing that GOI have not officially lodged a complain if it has got intercept that incriminates Pakistan army ?

all the time DM was saying ..leave the intercept asides ? why ?

I agree, it was obvious after the media jumped on the issue, that the government had gone over board with their reactions after the incident and Parrikar has no answers either and puts the focus on avoiding the issue. However, he even makes it worse with the cyanide nonsense, because that another basesless claim he or the government can't prove, so why bring it up?
The fact remains that the government can't prove their claims, most likely because all they have are intercepts which would make their sources vulnerable, but then they should had remained silent about it and not jump in front of the media.

I must give it to the moderator to ask the DM such questions, he obviously was well prepared for the interview and not aimed on just sensationalise things.

Indeed ! cyanide thing was an absolute nonsense ...

if the so called terrorists wanted to leave no evidence behind and if they took cyanide why they will leave boat burning for so many hours ...

I think as karan thapar pointed out this whole operation was botched up ....

they tracked the boat for 23 hours or so ...and yet they have nothing substantial ...to prove but more theories ...e.g Cyanide

I can understand the operational difficulties with intercepting the called boat on a terror mission ... but Coast guard / Navy should have devoted more resources ...and we should have made frantic efforts to obtain the ' hard evidence ' ...and I guess they had enough time to get those resources ....as DM keeps repeating the boat was in Indian waters for almost 14-16 hours .... all that CG did all this time is just to track boat ...we have no answers why navy was not involved or did not get involved in this operation ....lot of opportunities were wasted ...

all we have is a picture of boat on fire ...and lots of imaginations on fire too !!!

 

[sancho]

so do you think that Karan thapar was right in pointing that GOI have not officially lodged a complain if it has got intercept that incriminates Pakistan army ?

Of course, that's his job as an actual journalist (and not only a blogger like most of the Indian defence media), to not just take a statement for granted, but to keep digging and asking. He might not always get the answers, but it is his responsibility to ask and point to the weakpoints or wrong doings.
He should had asked him about the work of Jaitley though, in the 5 month before he took over.

all the time DM was saying ..leave the intercept asides ? why ?

As I said, most likely because he can't disclose them and since he doesn't have any other proof, he is trying to divert the attention.

I think as karan thapar pointed out this whole operation was botched up ....

Well, I do think ICG did a good job by detecting and intercepting a possible threat. If there are intercepts, our intelligence has worked fine too and both are a clear sign of improvements over the years from 26/11. The problem is the lack of coordination of what was said in the media, especially from the MoD and other politicians of the government. Looked more like a PR show, than a calm and reasonable analysis of the situation, which back fired on them, when the media asked valid questions.

all we have is a picture of boat on fire ...and lots of imaginations on fire too !!!

The problem is, that even ex Navy officers say, that that fire does not confirm explosives that the MoD suspected, nor do we know what the cause was. Remember IN sunk a fishing trawler once and first boasted that it was a pirat mother ship, till it was clear that it was a trawler that was captured by pirates. So one have to be cautious with giving official statements, without having actual proofs that can be shown, or knowing the whole issue.

 

[Abingdonboy]

how is release of intercept is going to compromise the sources ?

The DM said numerous times that they would not divulge such information for fear of compromising their sources. If the GoI is saying this then who are we to question otherwise? We are privy to but a tiny fraction of the information, if the security agencies who know exactly how this intercept was made are saying divulging the intercepts would compromise their operational security then it is absolutely correct that no intercepts are made public. Every situation is unique so we can't compare the 26/11 or Kargil cases to this, we don't know what technical wizadry the NRTO used in this incident and now, rightly, wants to protect.

In most nations the question of releasing such information and compromising the operational security of their agencies wouldn't even need to be discussed.

@sancho @Indo-guy it is true that there exists many unknowns in this incident but I will personally trust the word of the DM of India who has access to a much clearer picture of the incident than any of us and especially the media.

As for the lack of an official complaint against Pakistan, I think this is where the lack of concrete evidence linking them to the Pakistani makes this move untenable (which would seem to be the very reason the men on that boat destroyed it in the way they did). The only things clear are that the ICG launched an operation based on specific intelligence based on intercepts by the NRTO. The boat they intercepted was far away from the traditional fishing and smuggling routes and behaving most abnormally. Remember the ICG had the boat under constant surveillance for more than 12 hours, for a boat to simply be hovering in Indian waters like this is most suspect. On being challenged the boat and crew did not act the way other illgal fishermen and smugglers have in the past- drop contraband over the sides and allow themselves to be arrested.

Beyond this it is hard to draw any conclusions, some will connect the dots and say terrorists others say smugglers. One way or another this boat was up to no good and the ICG and NRTO deserve nothing but praise.

I agree the MoD's PR strategy has been sub-optimal in this incident and has, itself, opened the GoI/MoD up to criticism. All the MoD had to do was lay out the verifiable facts (intercepts made, ICG operation launched, bopat destroys itself and location of this incident) and then say they were investigating the true nature of this boat's intentions and crew. End of story. There is nothing to criticize here or create the nonsense storm we have seen.

Once the MoD releases the images/video that proves the ship was not destroyed by any ICG firing the case will be even stronger.

 

[sancho]

it is true that there exists many unknowns in this incident but I will personally trust the word of the DM of India who has access to a much clearer picture of the incident than any of us and especially the media.

It's not a matter of trust, but if the actions were smart or not. If he can't prove things openly (be it to the public or Pakistani officials), he shouldn't had stated such things openly either. Stating things and then making a U-Turn by saying I can't disclose things was simply not a smart move, because that makes him now vulnerable to the questions he can't answer.

The only things clear are that the ICG launched an operation based on specific intelligence based on intercepts by the NRTO.

Possible, but was it necessary to talk about the intercepts, when you can't disclose them? They could had stated from the start, the mission was based on informations we gathered, from classied sources, fullstop! There was no reason to directly point finger to Pakistan or to brag about the intercepts, but since THEY did, the media or anybody else have the right to ask for proves too and that could had been handled better.

Beyond this it is hard to draw any conclusions, some will connect the dots and say terrorists others say smugglers.

But that makes a huge difference! Especially when you want to point fingers!

Once the MoD releases the images/video that proves the ship was not destroyed by any ICG firing the case will be even stronger.

I don't think so, since the issue is not how the vessel was destroyed, but what evidence they can provide for the claims that there were terrorists on board, that there was a plot to attack India, that there were explosives on board and that there is any link that can be proven to Pakistan. All of this is claimed, but without any proof!
If it was "just" a smuggler vessel and even if it was sunk by the CG, doesn't matter, since the CG had enough reasons to follow or even try to stop it.

 

[sancho]

@Abingdonboy

Btw did you noticed this part of the interview, while refering to the costs of MMRCA:

"Whether it is Rs 40,000 crore, or Rs 50,000 crore or Rs 1 lakh-crore, we are speaking about 50 per cent of the capital budget of the defence services."

The defence budget is around $37 billion => 50% = $18,5 billion! My estimates seems to be on the spot.