3 min readMar 7, 2026 12:47 PM IST
India allowed an Iranian naval vessel carrying young cadets to dock at Kochi on humanitarian grounds as it was “having problems”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in his first public remarks on the ongoing Middle East crisis. He said the situations at the time of the docking of the ship and its sailing away were completely different.
The remarks came as the West Asia war escalated for the eight straight day.
Speaking about the episode, Jaishankar said India had received a request from the Iranian side after one of its ships reported problems while sailing in the region.
“We got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, which presumably was closest to our borders at that point of time, wanted to come into our port. They were reporting that they were having problems,” he said.
#WATCH | Raisina Dialogue 2026 | EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, “I too support UNCLOS and international law… We got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, which presumably was closest to our borders at that point of time, wanted to come into our port. They were… pic.twitter.com/CujBWJkXIL
— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2026
According to the minister, New Delhi permitted the vessel to enter Indian waters on March 1. The ship took a few days to reach India before eventually docking in Kochi.
Jaishankar said the vessel had a number of young cadets on board who were originally travelling for a fleet review when the conflict situation escalated. “When the ships had set out and when they came here, the situation was totally different. They were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of events,” he said.
The minister also referred to a similar situation involving a vessel near Sri Lanka, noting that the authorities there had taken their own decision in dealing with it and that one ship “unfortunately didn’t make it”.
Jaishankar emphasised that India’s decision was guided primarily by humanitarian considerations rather than legal or political factors.
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“We approached the situation from the point of view of humanity, other than whatever the legal issues were, and I think we did the right thing,” he said, while also reiterating his support for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law.
Addressing debates on social media about foreign military presence in the region, Jaishankar said the strategic realities of the Indian Ocean were not new.
“There are a lot of social media debates going on over this. Please understand the reality of the Indian Ocean,” he said.
He pointed out that the military base at Diego Garcia has existed in the Indian Ocean for decades, while foreign military deployments in Djibouti emerged in the early 2000s. He also referenced the development of the port at Hambantota during the same period.
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His remarks come amid heightened tensions in West Asia that have triggered concerns about maritime security and the safety of vessels operating across the Indian Ocean region.
