Sinking of Iranian frigate off Sri Lankan waters an act of stunning recklessness by the Trump administration

The sinking of an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, by an American fast-attack submarine in international waters south of Sri Lanka is the first acknowledged instance of an American submarine sinking an enemy surface vessel since World War II, and the first torpedo-based sinking of any warship since the 1982 Falklands War. The Sri Lankan navy and air force have managed to rescue 32 sailors among the 170 on board. The American navy did not participate in rescue operations, in contravention of the Geneva Convention.

These are paradigm shifts taking place right before our eyes. While the US is within its rights to destroy an enemy vessel in international waters even during an undeclared war, the incident smacks of stunning recklessness and the undermining of India’s authority in its own backyard.

The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy defines the Western Hemisphere as its ‘strategic backyard’, its ‘systemic fortress’, and the top priority regional theatre.

For the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean are to be secured against foreign (read Chinese and Russian) influence.

The kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro happened on the day he was meeting Chinese envoys, indicating the lengths the Trump administration will go to secure its strategic interests in its primary threat vector.

Washington should have kept these factors in mind while launching the torpedo from its nuclear-powered submarine in the Indian Ocean, a region where India’s role as the net security provider is in America’s own interests.

For India, it brings the war dangerously close to home, nullifying the calibrated distance New Delhi has sought to build since the beginning of the war in West Asia.

That IRIS Dena participated in a flagship Indian naval exercise, Milan 2026, a multilateral event intended to project maritime cooperation under the theme of ‘United through Oceans’, is an added discomfort for New Delhi.

India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as its primary theatre of influence, seeking to prevent it from becoming a battlefield for extra-regional powers. The fact that the US Navy conducted a major combat operation in Sri Lanka’s EEZ without New Delhi’s apparent prior consent or coordination puts New Delhi in a particularly unsavoury position. Not surprisingly, India has so far maintained a studied silence on the issue.

The vessel was not in active combat, weapons were shelved, and mainly non-combatants were on board during the incident, claims Iran.

Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, a state may use force in self-defence only in response to an armed attack. While the MEA has not released a statement on the incident so far, in a March 3 readout the Ministry of External Affairs expressed anguish that the war was widening and “urged all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prioritise the safety of civilians”.

The sinking of Dena is also detrimental to India’s strategic and economic interests, incumbent as they are on stability and tranquillity in the high seas proximate to India, and raises risks for seaborne commerce. Nearly 88 per cent of India’s crude imports and key trade routes pass through these waters, now exposed to threats and potential disruptions from US submarines lurking underneath.

(Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)