Skip to main content
China's Navy Chief Admiral Wu Shengli being received on the deck of INS Shivalik by its Captain Puruvir Das when he visited the ship at Qingdao on Tuesday.
PTIChina's Navy Chief Admiral Wu Shengli being received on the deck of INS Shivalik by its Captain Puruvir Das when he visited the ship at Qingdao on Tuesday.
Admiral Wu Shengli, China’s Navy Chief, this week caught Indian officials off guard by asking for an impromptu tour of the most sensitive nerve centre of the advanced Indian missile frigate, INS Shivalik, while on a brief courtesy call on the visiting ship.

The Shivalik arrived at this eastern port city, which is the base of the PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) North Sea Fleet, on Sunday to take part in exercises on Wednesday to mark the Chinese Navy’s 65th anniversary.

Indian officials told Admiral Wu that the ship’s operations room — the Combat Information Centre — was among the Indian Navy’s most advanced and was kept locked when the frigate was docked at harbour. Under standard operating procedures, it cannot be opened without exception.

The Admiral’s request surprised Indian officials as navy officials usually follow an unwritten protocol for visiting ships and refrain from asking to see areas regarded as sensitive. That the request came amid a goodwill visit aimed at boosting trust put officials in an awkward situation: they did not want any incident casting a shadow on maritime exercises that were described as positive and the most high-level ever between the navies.

Fortunately, sources said, the frigate’s Commanding Officer, the experienced Captain Puruvir Das, deftly handled the situation. He stood his ground and told the Admiral that operating procedures meant that the CIC had to remain closed at harbour with no exceptions, but told him that he would be welcome to visit the ship at sea during exercises, an unlikely prospect for China’s Navy Chief.

Notwithstanding the Admiral’s unexpected request, officials said the Shivalik visit would go a long way in boosting trust between the navies. Captain Das said “the exercises went very well,” but did not comment on Admiral Wu’s request. “There were no problems, despite the language barrier,” he said. “This was the highest engagement we have had so far with the Chinese Navy. But we do not want to stop at this and every year the level should go higher and higher.”Mock hijack

In a three-way exercise involving China and Indonesia simulating an anti-hijack operation, the Shivalik deployed its Chetak helicopter as its crew raided the “hijacked” vessel.

The drill was the most advanced of three different exercises held on Wednesday. Seven countries were invited by China for the drills, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore and Brunei. The drill marked a rare instance of Indian and Pakistani ships at the same exercises, although they did not come into contact as they were involved in different drills.

Popular posts from this blog

NGT terminates chairmen of pollution control boards in 10 states (downtoearth,)

Cracking the whip on 10 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) for ad-hoc appointments, the National Green Tribunal has ordered the termination of Chairpersons of these regulatory authorities. The concerned states are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Manipur. The order was given last week by the principal bench of the NGT, chaired by Justice Swatanter Kumar. The recent order of June 8, 2017, comes as a follow-up to an NGT judgment given in August 2016. In that judgment, the NGT had issued directions on appointments of Chairmen and Member Secretaries of the SPCBs, emphasising on crucial roles they have in pollution control and abatement. It then specified required qualifications as well as tenure of the authorities. States were required to act on the orders within three months and frame Rules for appointment [See Box: Highlights of the NGT judgment of 2016 on criteria for SPCB chairperson appointment]. Having

High dose of Vitamin C and B3 can kill colon cancer cells: study (downtoearth)

In a first, a team of researchers has found that high doses of Vitamin C and niacin or Vitamin B3 can kill cancer stem cells. A study published in Cell Biology International showed the opposing effects of low and high dose of vitamin C and vitamin B3 on colon cancer stem cells. Led by Bipasha Bose and Sudheer Shenoy, the team found that while low doses (5-25 micromolar) of Vitamin C and B3 proliferate colon cancer stem cells, high doses (100 to 1,000 micromolar) killed cancer stem cells. Such high doses of vitamins can only be achieved through intravenous injections in colon cancer patients. The third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, colon cancer can be prevented by an intake of dietary fibre and lifestyle changes. While the next step of the researchers is to delineate the mechanisms involved in such opposing effects, they also hope to establish a therapeutic dose of Vitamin C and B3 for colon cancer stem cell therapy. “If the therapeutic dose gets validated under in vivo

SC asks Centre to strike a balance on Rohingya issue (.hindu)

Supreme Court orally indicates that the government should not deport Rohingya “now” as the Centre prevails over it to not record any such views in its formal order, citing “international ramifications”. The Supreme Court on Friday came close to ordering the government not to deport the Rohingya. It finally settled on merely observing that a balance should be struck between humanitarian concern for the community and the country's national security and economic interests. The court was hearing a bunch of petitions, one filed by persons within the Rohingya community, against a proposed move to deport over 40,000 Rohingya refugees. A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, began by orally indicating that the government should not deport Rohingya “now”, but the government prevailed on the court to not pass any formal order, citing “international ramifications”. With this, the status quo continues even though the court gave the community liberty to approach i