Deadly Arrogance

The death of three Indian sailors aboard the tanker Settebello should provoke outrage far beyond Indian borders. It is not merely a tragic consequence of yet another conflict in West Asia but the result of an extraordinarily arrogant assertion of power by Donald Trump’s United States.

According to the U.S. military, an American aircraft carried out a ‘precision strike’ on the vessel’s engine room after its crew allegedly failed to comply with directions from American forces. That explanation raises more questions than it answers. Since when does non-compliance by a commercial vessel warrant military force? Since when does a maritime blockade empower one nation to unleash missiles on civilian ships carrying foreign nationals?

For months, Washington has justified its campaign against Iran-linked shipping as a necessary measure to uphold security and deter Tehran. Yet the results increasingly resemble a dangerous exercise in maritime coercion that places innocent seafarers directly in harm’s way. Eight ships have reportedly been disabled and more than a hundred turned back since the blockade began in April. Commercial shipping lanes have become theatres of military confrontation, with civilian crews paying the price.

Soon after the strike on the Settebello, another vessel carrying twenty Indian sailors, the MT Jalveer, was struck off the coast of Oman. Thankfully, Omani authorities rescued those on board.

While New Delhi has demanded that such attacks cease immediately, the outrage should go further. The killing of Indian nationals by a foreign military demands accountability. A transparent investigation is the minimum requirement and the International Maritime Organization is right to insist upon one.

What makes the episode particularly troubling is the double standard that often accompanies American power. Had another country launched repeated attacks on commercial vessels, disabled ships in international waters and killed foreign sailors in the process, Washington would have denounced the actions as reckless and unlawful. Yet when America does it, the language becomes sanitised and civilian deaths from non-combatant countries become collateral damage. Military adventurism becomes ‘enforcement’ in U.S. geopolitical lingo. Washington appears increasingly comfortable wielding overwhelming force while expecting the world to accept the consequences.

For India, the issue transcends geopolitics. More than nine million Indians live and work across West Asia, while Indian seafarers form one of the largest contingents in the global maritime workforce. Every escalation in the region places their lives at risk. New Delhi cannot remain a passive observer when its citizens become casualties of other nations’ strategic contests.

The deaths aboard the Settebello are a stark reminder of an uncomfortable truth. The greatest threat to international order is not always posed by those who openly challenge it. Sometimes it comes from those who claim to defend it while acting as though the rules apply only to others.