Those behind attack on India cargo vessel will be found and dealt with: Rajnath at commissioning of INS Imphal

Mumbai, Dec 26: The government has taken the recent drone attack on a ship in the Arabian Sea very seriously, and, whoever carried out the strike will be tracked down and dealt with, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Mumbai on Tuesday.

"Nowadays turbulence in the sea has increased a lot. India's growing economic and strategic power has filled some forces with jealousy and hatred. The Government of India has taken the recent drone attack on 'MV Chem Pluto' in the Arabian Sea and the earlier attack on 'MV Sai Baba' in the Red Sea very seriously. The Indian Navy has increased surveillance on the sea. Whoever has carried out this attack, we will find them even if it is from the seabed. Those behind these attacks would be brought to justice," the Defence Minister said.

India plays the role of being the net security provider in the entire Indian Ocean Region, Rajnath said adding that the Indian government will ensure that the maritime trade in this region rises from the sea to the heights of the sky.

With the friendly countries, India will keep the Sea Lanes safe and secure for maritime commerce, he said.

Singh was the chief guest at the commissioning of INS Imphal at the Naval Dockyard. The event was attended by Chief of Naval Staff R Hari Kumar, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, and other senior officers.

"I believe that the commissioning of INS IMPHAL will further strengthen India's naval power. It has been named after IMPHAL, which represents the Glory of the Northeast. It was sanctioned in Delhi, which is in North India," the Raksha Mantri said while addressing Navy senior officers and the public during the event.

"The 15B project under which INS IMPHAL comes includes the names of four big cities of the country, i.e. Visakhapatnam, Murmugaon, Imphal and Surat. INS IMPHAL itself comes under the Visakhapatnam class, representing South India. It was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, which is in Mumbai, i.e. Western India. So it could be said the glory of North-South, East-West is reflected in INS IMPHAL, which goes to further showcase the country's unity and integrity of India," the Raksha Mantri added.

He said, in his view, one of the biggest features of INS IMPHAL is that it has been completely conceptualised, designed and constructed in India, further affirming the larger goal of 'Make in India'.

Brahmos Aerospace has installed Brahmos missile on INS IMPHAL while Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has installed torpedo tube launchers on it. Rapid gun mount has been installed by BHEL. Medium-range missiles have been installed by BEL. Apart from this, many start-ups were also involved in its construction. Inputs from MSMEs have also been included in this. Basically, INS IMPHAL has been created by a combination of different forces of India, Rajnath said.

"Recently, Prime Minister Modi met the Navy colleagues in Sindhudurg and for a long time, only land-based threats to the western and northern borders were given priority. Due to this, attention was given to the Army and Air Force, but not that much attention was given to the Navy. But under the leadership of the Prime Minister, his vision underlined the importance of the Navy, and today the Navy is getting equal attention as the rest of the armed forces of India," he said.

INS IMPHAL reflects India's growing maritime power. Rajanth expressed confidence that INS IMPHAL will further strengthen the principle of 'Jalmev Yasya, Balmev Tasya', which stands for, "He who rules over the seas is all powerful", in the Indo-Pacific region.