Daily Times

Ever since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, India has conducted a number of false flag maritime operations with the intention of implicating Pakistan. Readers may recall the New years’ eve 2015 ‘Terror Boat’ drama. It was staged to denigrate Pakistan, but was exposed by the Indian Coast Guard DIG BK Loshali, who lost his job after a boastful TV interview.

Lately, Indian maritime false flag operations are being conducted with a different rationale. On 7 October 2017, the Indian media bragged of a successful anti-piracy operation executed by Indian Navy (IN) Trishul, a stealth frigate which supposedly thwarted an attempted pirate attack on an Indian bulk carrier MV Jag Amar in the Gulf of Aden. IN spokesperson Capt D K Sharma claimed that an AK-47, one magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders were recovered during the operation.

Indian media has claimed that this was the third successful Indian counter piracy incident in the past six months. In April 2017, the Indian media claimed that Indian Navy (IN) destroyers Mumbai and Tarkash responded to a merchant vessel’s distress call as the vessel was under pirate attack. Although Chinese Special Forces had already boarded the merchant vessel and saved the crew, IN logged it as its own victory.  Similarly, in May 2017, INS Sharda, an offshore patrol vessel, reportedly foiled a piracy attempt on bulk carrier MV Lord Mountbatten in Gulf of Aden. However, here too the skiffs had only one AK-47 with a few rounds. The recovery of only a single AK-47 negates IN’s assertion of piracy since most fishing vessels carry a weapon for self protection. Piracy has to be at a larger scale.

Ironically, following the Chanakyan dictum of “tell a lie so often that it appears to be the truth” and after a long series of botched false flag operations in ground operations and fake surgical strikes into Pakistani territory, India believes that its maritime false flag operations will not be challenged.

Piracy in the western Indian Ocean region emanated from Somalia but is declining due to the employment of enhanced anti-piracy techniques by naval forces in the region and also because of positive developments in Somalia

India forgets that international piracy is such a serious threat that international forces are keeping a vigilant eye on the region to thwart the menace. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy (RN) capability with the principal purpose of providing an information conduit between military which includes security forces and the wider international maritime trade and a trusted source which monitors the maritime security situation in the Indian Ocean region, noted that the so called Indian operation never took place.

Piracy in the western Indian Ocean region emanated from Somalia but is declining due to the employment of enhanced anti-piracy techniques by naval forces in the region and also because of positive developments in Somalia. Constant patrolling by international navies, especially those participating in CTF-151, the international counter piracy task force operating in the Gulf of Aden area, and other multinational operations such as the EU’s Operation Atalanta, and NATO’s Ocean Shield also undertook the same mission alongside individual National tasking by countries such as China, Russia and India. Pakistan Navy (PN), recognising the need for co-operative action, consistently participated in anti-piracy task force (CTF-151) since 2009 and has been a part of counter terrorism task force (CTF-150) since 2004. PN has the honour of commanding both these task forces eight and ten times respectively. Both coalition forces come under the banner of the US led Coalition Maritime Forces (CMF) and are headquartered in Bahrain.

CMF is also a source of news and incident verification for piracy and security related incidents at sea as its vessels are in constant patrol around the region, well supported by maritime patrol aircraft keeping an ever watchful eye on maritime traffic and on the lookout for anything untoward. Whereas, Indians joined Operation Ocean Shield in 2009 which was an anti-piracy initiative as sub part of NATO’s of Operation Enduring Freedom — Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA). Operation Ocean Shield focuses on protecting the ships which are transporting relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme’s mission in the region. Operation Ocean Shield disbanded in December 2016.

Apart from this initiative, India has not been a formal part of any other counter piracy endeavour. PN, on the other hand, has been an active member of the CTF. Readers may recall the June 2011 successful humanitarian operation of rescuing 22 sailors from the ill fated MV Suez by PNS Babur and later transporting them safely to Karachi by PNS Zulfiqar. The complement of MV Suez also comprised six Indians, who were appreciative of PN’s hospitality.

India has been endeavouring to become a member of the international task forces but has not been successful so far. Its false flag maritime operations may be a calculated effort by the Indian national leadership to curry favour with the US; hoping that US will assign IN the responsibility of maintaining regional security and stability. It may also be part of India’s grand design of its projection dominating the Indian Ocean.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV Talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China

Published in Daily Times, December 3^rd 2017.