The USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored transiting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. We have conveyed our concerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the Government of USA through diplomatic channels, the statement said.
The government s response came after US Navy s 7th fleet said in a statement that its Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones asserted navigational rights and freedoms around 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, without requesting India’s prior consent” on April 7. This, it added, was “consistent with international law . India requires prior consent for military exercises or maneuvers in its EEZ or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognised in international law by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims, said the US Navy s statement.
File photo
NEW DELHI: The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones carried out a freedom of navigation operation near Lakshadweep Islands in India s Exclusive Economic Zone on April 7, without deliberately seeking New Delhi’s prior consent.
The exercise was carried out to challenge India s excessive maritime claims, the US Navy said in a statement. The government conveyed its concern to the US, saying such activities cannot be carried out without its consent. Other countries are not allowed to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone military exercise and manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state, the government s statement read.
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Robust Freedom of Navigation Operations Must Continue
FONOPs benefit the United States as well as the rest of the international community – and enjoy bipartisan support in Washington.
By
January 26, 2021
The French amphibious assault ship LHD Tonnerre (L9014), left, and the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61), right, patrol the open seas, January 25, 2018.
Credit: Flickr/Official U.S. Navy Page
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Since its founding, the United States has protected freedom of navigation. Of all lawful uses of the oceans, freedom of navigation has proven the most critical to American national security by enabling the global mobility of U.S. forces, and to U.S. economic prosperity by facilitating free and open maritime commerce. What is more, these benefits are not singularly enjoyed by the United States but rather by all law-abiding countries.