All at Sea

It was meant to be a rare bit of good news amid increasingly stormy relations: the Indian and Chinese navies, working closely together, had rescued a hijacked Tuvaluan merchant ship near the Gulf of Aden, showing that both neighbours could, at least on the high seas, temporarily forget their long (and growing) list of differences.

Responding to a distress call early on April 9, the Indian Navy said the INS Mumbai, INS Tarkash, INS Trishul and INS Aditya, on deployment to the Mediterranean, immediately came to the aid of the hijacked vessel. Working with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessel Yulin, a navy Chetak helicopter carried out a reconnaissance of the vessel, before the green light was given for the 18 Chinese personnel to board. The Indian Navy, on April 9, even tweeted a photo of a Chetak helicopter flying above the Yulin, and showed the INS Mumbai in close proximity to the Chinese vessel.

Beijing, however, had a very different take the next day. The Chinese defence ministry said 16 Chinese personnel “in Chinese naval aircraft” carried out the rescue, making no mention of India’s role in the reconnaissance. Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, when asked about the omission, replied that “under cover of our helicopters, special forces members of the navy rescued the 18 members on board”. Was there no Indian role, she was asked. “The Chinese convoy,” Hua replied, “had received reports from the UK Marine Trade Operations,” not India. It seems bilateral relations, for now, remain in troubled waters.