New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday questioned the Narendra Modi government’s silence over the attack on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters off Sri Lanka, which has claimed the lives of at least 87 sailors, with many more still missing.

Senior party leader and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid, who also heads the party’s Foreign Affairs Department, said the incident has “worryingly expanded the conflict to our immediate vicinity, risking further escalation on our doorstep”.

He said that the official silence and compromise risks jeopardising the hard-built trust in India’s naval capabilities and track record, in future Indian-led exercises, intelligence sharing, and coordination on anti-piracy and HADR operations.

“The BJP government should realise that India’s operational footprint and commitment to international law does not end 12 nautical miles off our coast, nor does it stop at the edge of our Exclusive Economic Zone. India must strongly assert our legitimate interests in the Indian Ocean Region, and not cede hard-fought space that other nations could exploit,” he said.

Given that IRIS Dena had participated in the International Fleet Review and MILAN 2026 in India until February 25, the vessel and its sailors were honoured guests of India. In accordance with established exercise protocols, it was likely defenceless at the time of the attack, the Congress leader said.

“Furthermore, as per Articles 95 and 96 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which India has ratified, IRIS Dena enjoyed sovereign immunity on the high seas and was far from any active theatre of hostilities. Given this, the attack cannot credibly meet the established criteria for self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which require demonstrable necessity, proportionality, and clear attribution to a specific armed attack,” said Khurshid.

Given India has consistently been a Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s silence is an abject abdication of India’s responsibilities as a maritime power, said the Congress.

It also undermines India’s legitimate interests in the IOR by narrowing the scope of our operational footprint and acquiescing to foreign interference within our own strategic backyard, it said.

Since 2008, the Indian Navy deployed over 100 warships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, escorted more than 3,400 merchant vessels, and has been recognised internationally as the “First Responder” and preferred security partner in the IOR, it said.

India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) record — from the 2004 Tsunami to Operation Brahma in Myanmar and Operation Sagar Bandhu in Sri Lanka — has repeatedly reinforced India’s maritime leadership and collaboration in ensuring a free and open Indian Ocean, while securing our naval Area of Operations, the Congress said.

According to reports, the IRIS Dena had departed from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and was on its return journey when it was attacked in international waters near the southern coast of Sri Lanka on March 4.

US officials did not deny responsibility for the attack and openly acknowledged the sinking of the Iranian vessel.

–IANS

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