A view of the coast along the Gulf of Oman. [AFP]
A view of the coast along the Gulf of Oman. [AFP]

By Park Hye-won, The Herald Business

India has lodged repeated protests with the United States after three of its nationals were killed in a US military strike on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Saturday he spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed India's protest over the deaths of the Indian sailors.

"I reiterated India's strong protest at the killing of three Indian crew members by the US Navy in the Gulf waters," Jaishankar said. "Such a lethal attack on a merchant vessel can never be justified."

The Palau-flagged vessel Sete Velo came under US military fire in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members. Washington said the ship had violated a maritime blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran. US forces also struck Indian-flagged vessels in the Gulf of Oman on June 8 and June 11, with more than 40 sailors and crew members rescued.

India's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned US Chargé d'Affaires Jason Mix for a second time — the first summons came June 10 — to lodge a formal protest. The ministry said it asked Mix to relay India's position to US authorities and urged the US military to take measures to prevent civilian casualties.

Pressure is also mounting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue directly with President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in France, scheduled for June 15 through June 17. Rahul Gandhi, former president of the opposition Indian National Congress, wrote on social media Friday that Modi would likely say nothing at the G7 about the three sailors who died, and called on him to speak up on their behalf.

The opposition Aam Aadmi Party also weighed in, saying that "if the victims had been Chinese sailors, China would almost certainly have reacted very differently," and urged Modi to raise the matter directly with Trump.


klee@heraldcorp.com