'Not justified': EAM Jaishankar to Marco Rubio on killing of 3 Indian sailors

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar held a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which he reiterated India's strong protest over the recent attacks by the U.S. Navy in the Gulf region. The military strikes resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners. In his tweet, A.I.M Jai Shankar wrote, spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India's strong protest at the attacks by the U.S. Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified. As I had said, that we attach high importance to the welfare and well-being of our seafaring community. As you know that we have a large seafaring community which spread across the world. We also have a large number of seafarers who are there in the Persian Gulf and in West Asia and we are in touch through our embassy and through Ministry of Shipping to ensure their welfare and well-being. When this particular attack happened on the the ship Sede Bello. We launched a strong protest with the American side. We called in the American CDA and he conveyed our deepest concerns on the ongoing incidents of attacks. As also we registered a strong protest with them. We conveyed that the welfare of our Our seafaring community is very important and the attacks that are happening must stop. We also conveyed that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward for peaceful resolution of the conflict and that there should be unimpeded access through the State of Hormuz in keeping with international law. So we made a position very clear on each of these points while reiterating how important the lives of our people are, their welfare and safety.