29.8.13

India vs. Iran standoff continues

India registered a strong protest with Iran for having detained an Indian ship earlier this month as foreign secretary Sujatha Singh summoned Iranian ambassador Gholamreza Ansari. India was hoping until now that the ship would be released without having to make its displeasure public but the Iranians have not relented.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took custody of the vessel on August 13 in international waters and forcibly took it to Bandar Abbas port. India’s patience is fast running out since the vessel has been in Iranian custody for 15 days without any justification or provocation.
The two countries have been on the verge of a diplomatic standoff. “Foreign secretary has conveyed government’s strong concern at the continued detention of our ship in Port Bandar Abbas and India’s expectation that the ship would be released at an early date and that crew members would be treated with due consideration and courtesy in keeping with international norms,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin in an official reaction.
The foreign ministry revealed that Singh had met Ansari over the issue also on August 16 — three days after the tanker was detained.
Indian officials maintain that United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should have guaranteed safe passage for the ship. Iran has signed, but yet to ratify UNCLOS.
Meanwhile, Iran has refused to listen to both SCI, the company that owns the ship, and MEA and continues to insist that it needs to be compensated for pollution. Sources said initially it asked for an anti-pollution undertaking from the captain but later sought $ 1 million as compensation. The Iranian Embassy here issued a statement saying that the issue was “purely technical” and not political. 

No comments: