Lethal action against civilian ships not justified: Jaishankar to Marco Rubio
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar telephoned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to register India's strong protest over US Navy attacks in the Gulf that...
What Happened
- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar telephoned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to register India's strong protest over US Navy attacks in the Gulf that resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners.
- Jaishankar's formal statement made clear that "lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified," placing India's position on record in unambiguous terms.
- The protest centred on the sinking of MT Settebello, a commercial tanker carrying 24 Indian crew members, which was struck by the US Navy for allegedly violating the blockade of Iranian ports; three crew members died.
- The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier summoned US Chargé d'Affaires Jason Meeks to deliver a formal diplomatic protest before the Jaishankar-Rubio phone call.
- India's protest is directed at the US — not Iran — since it is US naval forces enforcing the blockade that struck the vessels, a fact that makes this a diplomatically sensitive bilateral issue.
Static Topic Bridges
Diplomatic Protest and the Law of State Responsibility
When a state's nationals are harmed by the actions of another state's military, international law provides a mechanism called "diplomatic protection" — where the injured party's home state formally espouses their claim against the offending state. India's summons of the US Chargé d'Affaires and the Jaishankar-Rubio call are exercises of this right, rooted in the Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA), adopted by the UN International Law Commission (ILC) in 2001.
- Under ARSIWA Article 1, every internationally wrongful act of a state entails the international responsibility of that state.
- An act is internationally wrongful if it is attributable to the state and constitutes a breach of an international obligation (ARSIWA Article 2).
- The use of lethal military force against commercial vessels crewed by third-country nationals who are not combatants may breach international humanitarian law's principle of distinction — distinguishing between civilian and military targets.
- Diplomatic protest is a formal communication stating that a state's rights have been violated; it preserves the protesting state's legal position without necessarily initiating formal legal proceedings.
- A diplomatic note or demarche (delivery of a formal protest through summons) is a less escalatory tool than invoking international adjudication or imposing countermeasures.
Connection to this news: India's summons of the US Chargé d'Affaires and Jaishankar's direct call to Rubio are textbook exercises of diplomatic protection under ARSIWA — India is asserting that the US strikes on MT Settebello constituted internationally wrongful acts that harmed Indian nationals, and formally putting Washington on notice.
International Humanitarian Law: Principle of Distinction and Civilian Protection
International Humanitarian Law (IHL), also known as the laws of armed conflict, comprises the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols of 1977, and customary international law rules. A foundational principle is the "principle of distinction" — parties to an armed conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives.
- Additional Protocol I, Article 48 requires parties to direct operations only against military objectives.
- Commercial ships not engaged in military support activities are civilian objects; their crews are civilians.
- The principle of proportionality under IHL (Additional Protocol I, Article 51(5)(b)) prohibits attacks expected to cause civilian harm that is excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage.
- A vessel violating a naval blockade may, under traditional laws of naval warfare, be subject to visit and search, warning, and ultimately interdiction — but international law scholars debate whether immediate lethal strikes without prior warning are permissible.
- The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994) is the key reference for naval warfare rules; it requires a warning and reasonable time for compliance before force may be used against non-compliant merchant vessels.
Connection to this news: Jaishankar's statement that "such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified" directly invokes IHL's proportionality and distinction principles — the argument being that striking a commercial tanker with 24 crew members without adequate warning violates the laws of armed conflict as they apply at sea.
Freedom of Navigation and India's Foreign Policy Interests
Freedom of Navigation (FON) is a principle of customary international law — codified in UNCLOS — that ships of all states enjoy the right to sail in international waters and through international straits without interference. India has historically championed FON in the context of the South China Sea, where China's expansive territorial claims threaten commercial routes. The Hormuz crisis now applies the same principle in a context where a US-imposed blockade, rather than Chinese territorial claims, is the source of interference.
- India's 2015 Maritime Security Strategy ("Ensuring Secure Seas") identifies freedom of navigation as a core national interest, particularly for energy security.
- India is the world's third-largest oil importer; roughly 80% of India's crude oil imports transit through the Arabian Sea and Hormuz corridor.
- India has consistently conducted Freedom of Navigation patrols in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and participates in multinational maritime security exercises.
- India's approach to FON has been "rules-based" — insisting on UNCLOS as the governing framework even when it conflictsspecifically with great-power positions (whether Chinese or American).
- India's protest over the Hormuz attacks is consistent with its stated FON doctrine, applied even-handedly regardless of which great power is the violator.
Connection to this news: India's protest to the US over the Settebello strike reflects a consistent, principled application of its own FON doctrine — the same framework India has used to contest Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea is now being invoked against US naval enforcement actions in the Gulf.
India's Consular and Diaspora Protection Architecture
India has approximately 13 million seafarers in the global maritime workforce and millions more nationals working in Gulf states. Protecting these nationals when they are in danger is a test of India's consular infrastructure and evacuation capabilities. The MEA's Consular, Passport, and Visa (CPV) Division coordinates such responses.
- Operation Kaveri (2023, Sudan), Operation Ganga (2022, Ukraine), and Operation Raahat (2015, Yemen) are recent examples of India's Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO).
- The Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) is a 24x7 helpline for Indian nationals in distress abroad.
- The Emigration Act, 1983, governs the deployment of Indian workers abroad, including seafarers, and mandates emigration clearances for workers in "ECR" (Emigration Check Required) countries.
- The Ministry of Shipping coordinates with the Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) and the Director General of Shipping on maritime emergencies involving Indian crews.
- The 21 survivors of the Settebello strike were rescued and repatriated through consular coordination.
Connection to this news: The rescue of 21 Indian seafarers from MT Settebello and the repatriation process involved India's consular protection machinery — the incident highlights the operational demands placed on this architecture when Indian nationals are caught in conflict zones beyond India's territorial reach.
Key Facts & Data
- MT Settebello carried 24 Indian crew members; 3 were killed, 21 were rescued after the US Navy strike off Oman, on approximately June 10, 2026.
- India summoned US Chargé d'Affaires Jason Meeks before the Jaishankar-Rubio call.
- The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994) requires warning before force is used on non-compliant merchant vessels.
- Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (1977) codifies the principle of distinction and proportionality in IHL.
- India ratified UNCLOS in 1995.
- The Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA) were adopted by the ILC in 2001.
- India is the world's third-largest crude oil importer.
- Approximately 80% of India's crude oil imports transit through the Arabian Sea-Hormuz corridor.
- India's Maritime Security Strategy was published in 2015 under the title "Ensuring Secure Seas."