Houthis targeting merchant ships in Red Sea; situation not very good: Admiral Hari Kumar

PTI, Mar 5, 2024, 6:59 PM IST

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar (Credit: X / @PRODefNgp)

Panaji: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar on Tuesday said Houthis are targeting merchant ships belonging to either Israel, the US or the UK in the Red Sea with drones and missiles and the situation is ”not very good”.

Describing the activities in the Red Sea as ”an offshoot of the Israel-Hamas conflict”, the Admiral said the Indian Navy is providing necessary protection primarily to India-flagged ships and also to other vessels that seek assistance.

”Indian Navy is supporting all merchant ships in their to and fro journey between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean Region. Primarily, we are looking at the India-flagged vessels but also assisting any ship that seeks our help,” the Naval chief told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new Administrative building of Naval War College near Panaji.

Admiral Kumar further said the Indian Navy has given a clear message (to attackers) that we will not tolerate such acts, [which] make the Indian Ocean unsafe”.

”As far as activities in the Red Sea are concerned, it is an offshoot of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The situation is not very good. The Houthis have been targeting merchant ships…they are actually peaceful ships largely belonging to either Israel, the US or the UK or are Israeli-owned,” the Admiral said.

He said the Indian Navy has been escorting our own ships, and they (Houthis) have been firing drones, missiles, and ballistic missiles at the ships. ”Some ships suffered damage but there has not been any loss of life,” the Naval chief added.

”This (Red Sea situation) is an example of how a conflict in one part of the world is spilling over to another part and also of asymmetric forces trying to disrupt trade so that they can involve the international community,” the Admiral said.

The Red Sea crisis is an ongoing military standoff wherein the Iran-backed Houthis within Yemen launched a barrage of missiles and armed drones at Israel.