In Cheeky Tweets, Indian Navy Issues Warning to China Over Indian Ocean

New Delhi: The Indian Navy warned the Chinese Navy against any “misadventures” in the Indian Ocean in two tongue-in-cheek tweets late on Tuesday. Taking to its official Twitter handle, Indian Navy told the Chinese that “India was watching the Indian Ocean Region”.

“#MaritimeDomainAwareness @indiannavy extends a warm welcome to the 29th Anti-Piracy Escort Force (APEF) of PLA(N) in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Happy Hunting,” the Indian Navy’s official handle, Spokesperson Navy tweeted.

An hour later, the Indian Navy sent out another tweet.

“#MissionBasedDeployments From Persian Gulf to Malacca Straits & from Northern Bay of Bengal to Southern Indian Ocean to East coast of Africa @indiannavy with 50 ships on vigil 24X7 keep our Area of Responsibility (AOR) safe. @indiannavy Anytime, Anywhere Everytime @nsitharaman.”

The 29th Fleet from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) left China’s Zoushan on April 4 for Gulf of Aden and areas off Somali reportedly to escort civilian ships. The fleet carried over 700 officers.

While the Ministry of Defence has time and again said that they were closely monitoring the region, this is probably the first time that the forces have sent out a direct message.

The powerful messaging comes just months after Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba gave a clear indication that Indian Navy was ready to play a bigger role including under the proposed quadrilateral coalition among India, the US, Australia and Japan and confirmed that India has kick-started an ambitious project to build six nuclear-powered attack submarines that is expected to boost the Navy's overall strike capabilities. The development was seen amidst China's naval build-up and increasing military maneuvering in the Indo-Pacific region.