Indian Navy, UK Carrier Strike Group carry out Passage Exercise in North Arabian Sea
The Indian Navy on Tuesday said the exercise involved the UK Carrier Strike Group, comprising HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Richmond.
The multi-faceted naval exercise was conducted on 9 and 10 June 2025, and involved 'unified control of integral helicopters, tactical manoeuvres, coordinated anti-submarine operations and professional exchange of officers,' added the Navy.
The joint exercise demonstrates the deepening cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy, showcasing a shared commitment to maritime security and robust bilateral ties. This collaboration underscores the strong relationship between the two navies and their dedication to maintaining a secure and stable maritime environment.
India-UK bilateral defence ties have seen consistent progress through high-level visits, joint service exercises, and even policy changes.
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The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Fishermen protest demanding immediate release of arrested fishermen
Urging the Union and State governments to initiate steps to put an end to the frequent arrests of fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, fishermen staged a protest at Thanganchimadam on Wednesday. Condemning the recent arrest of seven fishermen from Rameswaram, they raised slogans to put an end to the arrests and retrieve the traditional Katchatheevu fishing grounds. Karl Marx, a fishermen leader, said that they were fed up with pleading with the governments to find a solution to the ever-ending issue. 'Whenever the fishermen arrest happens we come to the street and protest. We are just given a namesake promise to withdraw the protest,' he added. Neither the arrested fishermen were released nor the Sri Lankan government have stopped arresting fishermen, he stated. 'As they have had enough, this time, to put an end to the situation permanently, in addition to the announcement of series of protests, have also restrained from entering the sea for fishing,' he noted. Also, they would go to any extent to pressurise the government to release the arrested fishermen, Mr. Karl Marx said. Jesu Raja, another fishermen leader, said that after the fishing ban period ended in June 15, in addition to the detaining seven mechanised boats and one country boat, more than 55 fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. More than 20 fishermen were already in the Sri Lankan prisons as convict prisoners. 'With the addition of 50 more to the prisons, their health conditions were badly affected due to the poor conditions in the prisons,' he added. While several of them were diagnosed with serious health conditions, the Indian government should step in immediately to put an end to the inhumane treatment and arrest of Indian fishermen, he stated.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
When Indian government, British intelligence and the CIA joined hands to spy on communists in Kerala
Written by Paul McGarr In June, a British F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter arrived unexpectedly in Kerala. The aircraft was forced into an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport after being surprised by adverse weather while taking part in joint training exercises with the Indian Navy. The fighter, which operated from the British carrier HMS Prince of Wales, became an overnight media sensation. After engineering issues kept the aircraft grounded for several weeks, it came to represent a publicity opportunity that was simply too good to miss. Kerala Tourism took delight in referencing the stranded fighter in its social media posts. 'Kerala, the destination you never want to leave,' the Tourism Office's X account quipped. The prolonged presence of a state-of-the-art $115 million foreign stealth fighter on Indian soil generated plenty of public interest. In response, Britain's High Commission in New Delhi and India's Ministry of Defence maintained a firm, 'no comment'. The episode was not, in fact, the first time that the governments of India and Britain had worked together in the shadows to obscure a UK covert presence in Kerala. Back in 1957, administrations in Britain and the United States reacted with dismay when the Communist Party of India (CPI) claimed victory in Kerala's Legislative Assembly election. Coming at the height of the Cold War, the advent of the world's first democratically elected communist government in southern India sent shockwaves through Washington and Whitehall. Historians have previously documented the secret activity undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in conjunction with India's Congress government, to subvert the CPI's grip on Kerala. As the Indian Embassy in Washington reported back to South Block, the US State Department was stunned that India's communists had broken new ground by seizing power via the ballot box rather than the bullet. America simply was not prepared to let the CPI's victory stand. Having concluded that neither the Congress in Kerala nor the central Congress government back in New Delhi had a clear or workable plan to remove the CPI from office, the Eisenhower administration in Washington instructed the CIA to initiate a covert operation to end communist rule in Kerala. Between 1957 and 1959, by secretly channelling funds through Congress Party officials and anti-communist labour leaders, including S K Patil in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra, the CIA whipped up industrial unrest and political turmoil in Kerala. In July 1959, amidst scenes of mounting violence and disorder, the CPI government was dismissed from office under an executive order issued by India's President. The US Ambassador in India, Ellsworth Bunker, justified the CIA covert operation on the basis that his embassy had been in possession of hard evidence that the Soviets were funding local communist groups in Kerala. Presenting the CIA's actions as measured and defensive, Bunker confirmed that in India, as he claimed America had done elsewhere in the world since 1945, Washington had merely come to the assistance of friends when it became apparent communists were seeking to subvert democracy. Given the widespread public suspicion and concern that surrounded the CIA's own activities in India, the Congress Party's willingness to work covertly with the CIA was reflective of its anxiety that the CPI in Kerala would function as a Soviet puppet. In April 1957, B N Mullik, the chief of the Intelligence Bureau, presented India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, with an intelligence report indicating that senior members of the CPI Politburo were planning to visit Moscow to consult with the Soviets on how a communist government in Kerala should be run. Alarmed by the prospect of such blatant external interference in India's domestic affairs, Nehru summoned the Soviet ambassador, Mikhail Menshikov, to the Ministry of External Affairs and warned Moscow against meddling in Kerala. Until now, much less has been known about Britain's secret involvement in Kerala. London's man-on-the-spot, the British High Commissioner, Malcolm MacDonald, shared his American colleague's anxieties about the CPI. With Kerala being openly referred to as, 'The Indian Yenan', the veteran British diplomat insisted that, if left unchallenged, the CPI would exploit the state as a global shop window to showcase the benefits of communism and generate a political momentum that the Congress Party might find impossible to stop. Persuaded by MacDonald's analysis, Whitehall launched a parallel British Special Political Action, or clandestine operation, that ran alongside American covert activity and was similarly designed to undercut the CPI. Recently released records at the United Kingdom National Archives in London, part of a British Cabinet Office series covering 'Communism in India', have revealed how the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan actively and surreptitiously interfered in Indian domestic politics. Encompassing collaboration between the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), the UK Security Service (MI5), and India's Intelligence Bureau (IB), the British plan centred on bringing senior Congress Party officials and Indian Trade Union leaders to the United Kingdom. Once in the UK, the Indians were to be schooled in the dangers of communism and trained in covert methods of fighting elections and running unions against Communist opposition. In 1958, the British received a green light for the joint operation from B N Mullik. Winning Indian political approval, and that of India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was another matter. A direct approach to Nehru through his private secretary, M O Mathai, was considered by the British too risky. Instead, the Commonwealth Secretary, Lord Home, was dispatched to New Delhi on a secret mission to secure Indian government support for a collaborative covert operation targeting the CPI in Kerala. 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Time of India
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- Time of India
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The project, which includes other vendors and was later expanded to include Space Force, grew to cost $368 million and was scheduled for its first deployment this summer at the Air Force Academy. An April "status update" on the project conducted by the Air Force and obtained by Reuters described the project as "on track," with initial deployment scheduled for June, noting that it would end up saving the Air Force $39 million annually by allowing it to stop using an older system. But on May 30, Darlene Costello, then-Acting assistant Secretary of the Air Force, sent out a memo placing a "strategic pause" on the project for ninety days and calling for the study of alternate technical solutions, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters that was previously unreported. Costello, who has since retired, was reacting to pressure from other Air Force officials who wanted to steer a new HR project to SalesForce and Palantir, three sources said. Palantir co-founder Thiel was an early backer of President Donald Trump and has close ties with key Washington lawmakers, including Vice President JD Vance, whom he supported in a 2022 U.S. Senate race. Palantir in April won a $30 million contract from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop an operating system that identifies undocumented immigrants and tracks self-deportations, its largest single award from the agency among 46 federal contract actions since 2011. The Air Force said in a statement that it "is committed to reforming acquisition practices, assessing the acquisition workforce, and identifying opportunities to improve major defense acquisition programs." Accenture, Costello, Palantir and SalesForce did not respond to requests for comment. Space Force, which operates within the Air Force, was set to receive the Air Force's new payroll system in the coming months. 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'BEYOND EXASPERATED' In 2022, the Honolulu-based Nakupuna Companies took over a 2019 project with other firms to integrate the Navy's payroll and personnel systems into one platform using Oracle software and known as "NP2". The project, which has cost about $425 million since 2023, according to the Government Accountability Office, was set to be rolled out earlier this year after receiving a positive review by independent reviewer and consulting firm Guidehouse in January, according to a copy obtained by Reuters. But the head of Navy's human resources, now retired Admiral Rick Cheeseman, sought to cancel the project according to a June 5 memo seen by Reuters, directing another official to "take appropriate contractual actions" to cancel the project. Navy leaders instead mandated yet another assessment of project, according to a memo seen by Reuters, leaving it in limbo, two sources said. Cheeseman's reason for trying to kill the project was his anger over a decision by DOGE earlier this year to cancel a $171 million contract for data services provider Pantheon Data that essentially duplicated parts of the HR project. In an email obtained by Reuters, he threatened to withhold funding from the Nakupuna-led project unless the Pantheon contract was restored. "I am beyond exasperated with how this happened," Cheeseman wrote in a May 7 email to Chief Information Officer Jane Rathbun about the contract cancellation, arguing the Pantheon contract was not "duplicative of any effort." "From where I sit, I'm content taking every dime away from NP2 in order to continue this effort," he added in the email. Cheeseman did not respond to a request for comment. Rathbun and Pantheon Data declined to comment. The pausing of NP2 was "unexpected, especially given that multiple comprehensive reviews validated the technical solution as the fastest and most affordable approach," Nakupuna said in a statement, adding it was disappointed by the change because the project was ready to deploy. The Navy said it "continues to prioritize essential personnel resources in support of efforts to strengthen military readiness through fiscal responsibility and departmental efficiency."
