Pakistani ship in high seas can pose a jehadi threat, Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan on Wednesday said, citing reports of an attempt by militants to hijack a Pakistan Navy frigate in September.
He said that threat of maritime terrorism is increasing and the force was prepared for it.
On the reported failed attempt by Pakistani militants to hijack ‘PNS Zulfiqar’ in Karachi, Dhowan said it was indeed a “very, very serious situation” which the Indian Navy has taken “serious note of”.
While one report had then said that the plan of the militants was to use the hijacked ship to attack an American vessel, another had said the terrorists wanted to target an Indian vessel.
Asked if the navy takes into account the possibility that there might be a jihadi group on board when it encounters a Pakistani ship following the attack on INS Zulfiqar, he said, “We are taking that aspect into account.”
Dhowan referred to the changed threat scenario in the wake of the militant attempt and said that if the Indian Army finds an another army charging at its post, it will be cause of “great alarm” because the land border would have been violated.
Similarly, if an IAF aircraft has another warplane from a different air force very close to its tail, it will be a cause of “very great alarm because our air space would been violated”, he said.
“But, out at the sea, when officers on watch report to the captain that we have a warship from another navy…. the captain would tell the officer to wish him good morning because he is international waters and so are you. Well, in this changed environment, we have to rethink. We may not wish him good morning and actually carry out a surveillance and figure out who he is,” the Navy Chief said, addressing the annual press conference here on the eve of Navy Day.
Dhowan said that the navy had inputs about certain aspects of terrorism in maritime domain which are increasing. “These are taken into account in our security apparatus,” he said.
Dhowan said the navy has taken into account the Pakistan Navy frigate incident “as far as our matrix is concerned for our defence purpose as well as for our surveillance and security”.
Noting that maritime security challenges have actually increased manifold, he referred to piracy and said that the world now has floating armies and armed guards on board merchant vessels.
“We have inputs of various terrorist organisations which are out on sea,” he said, adding that one needs to understand the complexities of maritime security.
Maintaining that there are about 2.5 lakh Indian fishing boats at sea in a day, he said, “Anyone of them could carry a couple of guns, explosives and land in remote part of anyone of our islands.” India has 1,197 islands and a coastline of 7,650 kms.
“How easy it from the other side and how difficult it is from our side to try and get these secure…So it is a huge problem and complexities must be understood. Anyone of these vessels can be escorted by any terrorist organisation,” he said. “And hence the threat in the maritime domain from terrorists, from the aspect of asymmetrical warfare, non- state actors or whatever you want to call them is a huge problem,” he said. The Navy Chief said there has to be a constant endeavour to utilise all available means
— intelligence agencies, leveraging technologies, UAVs and fast-patrol boats, among others. He said though it is a huge problem, a lot of progress has been taken place since 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, including synergy among various agencies. Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan also indicated that human error besides other factors could have led to the tragedy. He said that a submarine is a “dangerous platform” because it has explosives, fuel and a lot of equipment. “In this environment, when procedures don’t get followed, there is a room for error. And whenever there is a room for error, accidents take place. So, this is a situation like that where (while) carrying out a particular activity, procedures were not being followed,” he said. The submarine met with the accident on August 14, 2013. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had last month said in a written reply in Parliament that the examination of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) in the case has not been completed yet. The BOI report is still with the Naval headquarters, he had said. Dhowan said, “The BOI is in its process of evaluation. What I can share with you is that there are aspects related to procedures which need to be followed when you are handling equipment, ammunition or a submarine.”
He said that the navy is a technologically advanced service where you have standard operating and safety procedures laid down for every aspect. “If an emergency is not tackled in the way it is supposed to be tackled, it perhaps can lead to situations,” he said.
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Pakistani ship in high seas can pose jihadi threat: Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan | The Indian Express | Page 2
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