Listen | 'There Is No Indication India Raised Issue of Attacks on Indian Nationals at Sea with US'

When three Indian nationals on neutral merchant ships were killed in attacks by the US forces at the Strait of Hormuz, it created an uproar in India. The Indian government called the US Charge d’Affaire, and PM Modi mentioned it to US President Trump. But was it enough?

Admiral Arun Prakash, former Naval chief of staff and now a commentator, does not think so. “Mr Trump is not just an unpredictable person. He can be quite intimidating also as we've seen in the past.

So one can understand our statesmen and diplomats treading with caution. But the fact remains that Indian lives have been put at risk. We've lost three seafarers,” he said in a podcast discussion with Sidharth Bhatia. “When Indian lives are jeopardised at sea, the mother country has to raise its voice.” India, he said, tends to “punch below its weight.”

He said that the specific point was not made and “therefore there was no comment called for by the Americans.”

India and the USA have close Naval relations. “They work in close coordination. They've been doing so for the last three decades.”

“The threat that they wield is that of inflicting tariffs and punitive actions like that. But India is not a small country, it's a substantial power. So, if Trump keeps threatening tariffs, we can also say, all right, we'll not buy from Boeing, we'll buy from Dassault,” he said.

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