As India’s communist parties and other political groups continue to oppose the docking of the USS Nimitz, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, in Indian waters, the Defence Ministry has released a list of nuclear-powered ships, most of them submarines, that have visited Indian ports since 2001.
The U.S. Navy’s Nimitz is to dock off Chennai in southern India July 1-5. “It is pertinent to mention that a number of nuclear-powered vessels belonging to different navies have so far visited Indian parts from 2001 to 2006,” the Defence Ministry notes in a statement released with the list.
According to the ministry’s list, the French Navy ships Perle, Charles de Gaulle and Amethyst; the U.S. Navy ships Alexandria, Santa Fe and Providence; and the British Royal Navy ship Sovereign — all nuclear-powered — have visited India.
The Perle called at Mumbai in 2001, while the other ships stopped at Goa between April 2004 and November 2006. The Charles de Gaulle, France’s lone aircraft carrier, has visited Goa on two occasions.
The Indian Navy formerly operated a nuclear-powered submarine, the INS Chakra, leased from Russia 1988-91.
However, the spokesman for the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M), Nilotpal Basu, justified his party’s protest of the Nimitz’s visit, saying: “The Americans are in difficulty in Iraq and are not having their way with Iran and are wary of the growing might of the Chinese.”
The ruling United Progressive Alliance government is able to stay in power only with the outside support of leftist parties, including the CPI-M.
A diplomat at the U.S. Embassy here said the safety record of the Nimitz is “outstanding” and noted no U.S. Navy ship has ever had a nuclear accident.
Posted By Staff Reporter: Gurgaon City News
in Gurgaon News
0 comments