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Hindustan Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
No gaps in defence preparedness, govt tells Parliament committee
NEW DELHI: There are no gaps in India's defence preparedness and efforts have been made to ramp up logistical provisions for the armed forces, a Parliamentary committee was informed on Tuesday, said people aware of the details. The committee was also informed about India's Indian Ocean Strategy and the efforts being made to secure the seas, in the wake of strategic challenges such as threats to maritime traffic, piracy and terrorism and China's growing footprint in the region said people quoted above. Several lawmakers raised the issue of expatriation of Indians stuck in war-torn Iran. At a meeting, of the standing committee on external affairs chaired by Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor that was attended by lawmakers and senior officials of the ministries of defence and external affairs, the government put forth that how India is prepared to secure its land, skies and seas. According to a person privy to the details, while there was no discussion on Operation Sindoor, India's military response against terror camps in Pakistan, lawmakers sought to know details about the country's preparedness for war and attacks and whether adequate provisions have been made to provide arms and equipment for the armed forces. 'There were some questions on whether our allocation for the defence budget is we are prepared if Pakistan ups the ante. Government officials said we are ready and well equipped,' said the person, speaking on condition of anonymity. Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Tharoor said the discussion was on an ongoing subject of India's Indian Ocean Strategy, which is a foreign policy subject that has important defence dimensions. 'We also had the Defence Secretary and the Navy present to brief us. The discussion was outstanding. We spent more than two and a half hours in serious conversation on various aspects, which you will see in the report submitted to Parliament...' he told ANI. Tharoor, who recently led a delegation of lawmakers to USA, Panama, Brazil and Colombia as part of a diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor said "... All of this (Blue Water Navy) was discussed... The whole idea of the Blue Water Navy, our military capacity beyond that, everything was thoroughly discussed. Operation Sindoor was not discussed, but some of the elements that became apparent during that confrontation came up in conversations..." On PM Modi's visit to Canada for the G7 Summit, Tharoor said, "The G7 are no longer the seven largest economies in the world because India and China are there and should be part of the G7 by that logic. But still, they're very influential countries. They have very good coordination amongst themselves. And for our Prime Minister to have an opportunity to talk to them, to have a role with them, to let his concerns be shared with them is always very important. There's nothing that we need to worry about. I'm sure that while the Prime Minister is there, very important conversations will take place, and we'll hear about them when the Foreign Secretary is back from the trip..." Several lawmakers raised the issue of the Israel-Iran conflict and the impact it has on the Indians stranded in Iran. 'There was at least one MP who said India has not issued a statement on the conflict...' AIMIM lawmaker Assadudin Owaisi is also learnt to have sought help for the return of 133 Hyderabad residents from Iraq. 'He said these people, mostly Shia Muslims are stranded because of air space restrictions and the Indian embassy in Kuwait should provide them e-Visas to be able to travel there and then get on to flights to India,' said a second person aware of the details. On India's commitment to the well-being and progress of nations of the Indian Ocean, the lawmakers were informed that the objective was to promote greater prosperity in the region and making the Indian Ocean a free, open and inclusive space.
India Gazette
17-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Parliamentary panel holds comprehensive discussion on India's Indian Ocean Strategy
New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on Tuesday discussed India's Indian Ocean Strategy including the idea of the Blue Water Navy. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chairman of Committee Shashi Tharoor said that Operation Sindoor was not discussed, but some of the elements that became apparent during that confrontation came up in conversations. Apart from the members, the meeting was attended by Defence Secretary, Secretary (East) in MEA and Vice Chief of Navy. The agenda of the meeting was 'Evaluation of India's Indian Ocean Strategy' with representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence to give oral evidence for examination of the subject. Tharoor described the discussion as 'outstanding' and said every one of the committee members present asked questions. 'We had an ongoing subject called India's Indian Ocean Strategy, which is a foreign policy subject that has important defence dimensions. We also had the Defence Secretary and the Navy present to brief us. The discussions were outstanding. We spent more than two-and-a-half hours in serious conversation on various aspects, which you will see in the report submitted to Parliament. We were blessed to have the Vice Chief of the Navy, the Defence Secretary, and the Secretary East of the Ministry of External Affairs. It was a very thorough discussion,' Tharoor said. 'Every single one of the committee members present asked questions... It's a tremendous sense of involvement in this discussion. We'll have a good report coming out of this very comprehensive discussion... All of this (Blue Water Navy) was discussed... The whole idea of the Blue Water Navy, our military capacity beyond that, everything was thoroughly discussed,' he added. The MPs present at the meeting included BJP's Nishikant Dubey, Arun Govil and RPN Singh and Congress MP KC Venugopal. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had last month hosted the 'Second Blue Talks' in the national capital. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Embassy of France and the Embassy of Costa Rica in India. India's maritime heritage is deeply rooted in its ancient traditions and rich history, with references to maritime activities found as early as the Rig Veda. Evidence from Indian literature, art, sculpture, painting, and archaeology underscores the existence of a vibrant maritime tradition that shaped the nation's identity. Modern India's maritime prowess manifests across all domains with its impressive 7,500 km coastline, 13 major ports, and 200 non-major ports, establishing it as an undisputed maritime powerhouse. Indian port's remarkable annual handling cargo capacity underscores the maritime sector's pivotal role in our economic landscape. The maritime sector facilitates around 95% of India's trade volume, and that accounts for 70% of its value, capitalising on the country's strategic Indian Ocean position. India's Navy is a full-fledged 'Blue Water Force with Green Footprint'. (ANI)
India.com
17-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
India Seriously Considering Blue Water Navy After Operation Sindoor; Parliamentary Panel Discusses...
NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on Tuesday discussed India's Indian Ocean Strategy including the idea of the Blue Water Navy. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chairman of Committee Shashi Tharoor said that Operation Sindoor was not discussed, but some of the elements that became apparent during that confrontation came up in conversations. Apart from the members, the meeting was attended by Defence Secretary, Secretary (East) in MEA and Vice Chief of Navy. The agenda of the meeting was 'Evaluation of India's Indian Ocean Strategy' with representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence to give oral evidence for examination of the subject. Tharoor described the discussion as "outstanding" and said every one of the committee members present asked questions. "We had an ongoing subject called India's Indian Ocean Strategy, which is a foreign policy subject that has important defence dimensions. We also had the Defence Secretary and the Navy present to brief us. The discussions were outstanding. We spent more than two-and-a-half hours in serious conversation on various aspects, which you will see in the report submitted to Parliament. We were blessed to have the Vice Chief of the Navy, the Defence Secretary, and the Secretary East of the Ministry of External Affairs. It was a very thorough discussion," Tharoor said. "Every single one of the committee members present asked questions... It's a tremendous sense of involvement in this discussion. We'll have a good report coming out of this very comprehensive discussion... All of this (Blue Water Navy) was discussed... The whole idea of the Blue Water Navy, our military capacity beyond that, everything was thoroughly discussed," he added. The MPs present at the meeting included BJP's Nishikant Dubey, Arun Govil and RPN Singh and Congress MP KC Venugopal. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had last month hosted the "Second Blue Talks" in the national capital. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Embassy of France and the Embassy of Costa Rica in India. India's maritime heritage is deeply rooted in its ancient traditions and rich history, with references to maritime activities found as early as the Rig Veda. Evidence from Indian literature, art, sculpture, painting, and archaeology underscores the existence of a vibrant maritime tradition that shaped the nation's identity. Modern India's maritime prowess manifests across all domains with its impressive 7,500 km coastline, 13 major ports, and 200 non-major ports, establishing it as an undisputed maritime powerhouse. Indian port's remarkable annual handling cargo capacity underscores the maritime sector's pivotal role in our economic landscape. The maritime sector facilitates around 95% of India's trade volume, and that accounts for 70% of its value, capitalising on the country's strategic Indian Ocean position. India's Navy is a full-fledged "Blue Water Force with Green Footprint".
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fmr Congressman Roe discusses passage of Blue Water Navy Act for Agent Orange effects
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Phil Roe spent six terms as the congressman for the First District of Tennessee. He served on the Veterans Affairs Committee and passed several bills to benefit veterans and servicemembers. 'I went to Leader [John] Boehner, and I said, 'Look, I need to be on the Veterans Affairs Committee,'' the former congressman recalled. 'And he said, 'Why?' I said, I'm a physician. I'm a veteran. I did some of my training in a [Veterans Affairs] hospital, and I've seen VA patients. I said, I need to be on that committee.' Roe was one of the last people drafted in the Vietnam War. He was in medical school, and his orders to go to Da Nang were deferred, so he ended up in Korea instead. He was the captain of the medical battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division. 'There were three of us young doctors that were in charge of taking the healthcare of an infantry division with 10,000 men in it.' He got out of the Army in 1975 and continued with medical school. Roe became one of the region's most well-known OB-GYNs. He spent some time in local government before heading to the nation's capital. 'When we put our folks at risk like that, then I think as a country, we're obligated to take care of any potential problems that they have in the future,' he said. Those who were boots on the ground and part of the brown water navy in Vietnam were already presumed to have exposure to Agent Orange. 'It turned out that the Blue Water people, the people were on ships that serviced the aircraft and so forth, drank the water they desalinated, were not included. And that was the Blue Water Navy bill.' The bill also included those in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, near where Roe was. 'We should have figured out something. When you spray it on a leaf and it wilts- that's probably not going to be good for you if you're attached to it. But we didn't have all that,' he said. 'It just took time to realize this. And then we had to appropriate the money. It's very expensive.' The road to the bill's passage was not easy. The former doctor spent hours going through studies while working on it. 'There were two studies that were done, one a Russian study, and one was an Australian study. I'm probably the only guy to ever read both of them,' he said. 'I couldn't come to a conclusion about whether it was presumptive or actually helped cause something or not. And I said, okay, if I've looked at this, the only evidence we have, and I can't determine scientifically whether it does or doesn't, I'm going on the side of the serviceman and woman. That's what I'm going to do.' It took 10 years to get the bill passed. And when it finally went through in 2019, there were fewer than 90,000 blue water navy service members left. 'You have to be pretty bullheaded to stay with something that long and what people don't realize is that every congress you have to start all over again,' Roe said. 'So every two years I had to restart this process and try to convince people it took that long to get it done. But we got it done.' Join News Channel 11 on Friday at 5 p.m. as we continue our series on The Vietnam War: 50 Years Later. And this Saturday, you can watch Vietnam War: A Lost Generation at noon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
