Indian Navy will lead New Delhi's response to any future Pakistani aggression, minister says
Relations between India and Pakistan are tense after four days of fighting this month, which involved fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery before a ceasefire was announced.
"If Pakistan resorts to anything evil or unethical, it will, this time, face the firepower and ire of the Indian Navy," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant off the coast of the western Indian state of Goa.
A spokesperson for Pakistan's military referred Reuters to a May 12 statement, which said there would be a "comprehensive and decisive" response whenever Pakistan's sovereignty was "threatened and territorial integrity violated".
The latest fighting erupted after 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, were killed in an April 22 attack in Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan territory claimed by both nations. New Delhi blamed the attack on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, which denied the charge.
A ceasefire took effect on May 10 and a top Pakistani military official told Reuters on Friday that both countries were close to reducing their troop build-up along their border to pre-conflict levels.
The Indian Navy has said it deployed its carrier battle group, submarines and other aviation assets in the northern Arabian Sea within 96 hours of the April 22 attack.
Defence Minister Singh said 'Operation Sindoor', under which India launched the strikes on Pakistan, was paused, but not yet over.
"We stopped our military actions on our own terms. Our forces had not even started showing their might," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
India calls Trump's tariff threat over Russian oil purchases ‘unjustified'
India condemned as 'unjustified' a threat by Donald Trump to significantly raise tariffs on the South Asian country's exports to the US, escalating tensions over New Delhi 's purchase of Russian oil. Mr Trump on Monday accused India of profiting from discounted Russian crude while disregarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. "India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits," the US president said on social media. 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA." India's foreign ministry responded swiftly. 'The targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable," spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that New Delhi would "take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security'. Mr Jaiswal also highlighted the ongoing energy and industrial trade between Russia and the West. He pointed out that the EU had goods trade with Russia of £57.38 bn in 2024 in addition to £14.62 bn in services trade the previous year. The US, meanwhile, continued to import Russian uranium for its nuclear sector and palladium for electric vehicles. 'It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia,' he said. 'Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion for them.' The escalating rhetoric marks a new low in a once-warm relationship between Mr Trump and Indian leader Narendra Modi, characterised by public camaraderie and joint rallies. Growing friction over trade, energy policy, and Mr Trump's overtures to rival Pakistan have strained US ties with New Delhi, and pressure from Western capitals to reduce its reliance on Russian oil is only piling up the pressure. Indian officials argued that the pivot to Russian oil was a market-driven necessity after traditional supplies were redirected to Europe following Western sanctions. India imported an average of 1.75 million barrels a day of Russian oil from January to June 2025, making it the largest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, up one per cent from a year ago, according to data analysed by Reuters. In recent months, however, public sector refiners in India, facing pressure and uncertainty, have started reducing Russian oil purchases. Imports in July fell to 1.6 million barrels per day, a 24 per cent decline from June and a 23.5 per cent fall year-on-year, according to tracking data from Kpler. Indian officials though maintained that there had been no formal policy change. Indian Oil Corp, the country's largest refiner, recently purchased 7 million barrels from the US, Canada, and Middle Eastern suppliers, Reuters reported, quoting unnamed trade sources. Mr Trump earlier imposed a 25 per cent levy on Indian imports, further unsettling bilateral relations. The US is India's largest trading partner. Indian exports to the US totalled £68.17bn in 2024 with a trade surplus of £35.88bn. India is not alone in importing Russian crude. According to think tank GTRI, China imported £49.45bn worth of Russian oil in 2024, compared to India's £39bn. Yet, Mr Trump has so far refrained from criticising Beijing. Eric Garcetti, former US ambassador to New Delhi, previously said that Washington supported Indian crude purchases from Russia to help stabilise energy markets. Indian energy minister Hardeep Singh Puri similarly defended the imports as both essential and sanctioned within the price cap framework. 'India helped stabilise global energy prices,' Mr Puri told CNBC. 'We were advised, including by our friends in the United States, to please buy Russian oil – but within the price cap.'
Times
31 minutes ago
- Times
Business live: Wall Street banks warn of market correction
Oil prices remained lower after output increases by Opec+ aimed at regaining market share and threats by President Trump to raise tariffs on India over its Russian petroleum purchases. The benchmark Brent crude futures contract is down 0.28 per cent to $68.57 a barrel this morning, its lowest level in a week. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude. Trump wants the country to stop buying Russian oil as Washington seeks ways to push Moscow for a peace deal with Ukraine. He is threatening to impose 100 per cent secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian crude. Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.' Some Wall Street banks are warning clients to prepare for a market pullback, even as Wall Street indices rebounded from last week's sell-off. Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Evercore all cautioned that the S&P 500 index is due for a near-term drop due to the fallout from President Trump's trade war, including slowing consumer spending, weaker economic growth, higher unemployment and potentially rising inflation. Mike Wilson, the Morgan Stanley strategist, forecasts a correction of up to 10 per cent this quarter, while Evercore's Julian Emanuel is expecting as much as 15 per cent. For now stock markets seem unfazed. Shares in Asia rose for a second day. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6 per cent, supported by data showing a jump in the nation's service sector activity in July. Meanwhile, mainland China's SSE Composite gained 0.5 per cent after services activity expanded at its fastest pace in 14 months in July. The FTSE 100 is forecast to open 30 points higher when trading begins.
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Indian shares inch lower as investors assess Trump's tariff threat
Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks inched lower on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat of harsh tariffs on goods from India over the country's purchases of Russian oil. The Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab fell 0.31% to 24,646.95 points and the BSE Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab lost 0.36% to 80,737.93 as of 9:38 a.m. IST. Trump on Monday threatened higher tariffs on imports from India, prompting New Delhi to call the move "unjustified" and pledge to safeguard its economic interests, further straining trade ties between the two nations. Analysts said the ongoing trade tensions have dampened market sentiment, keeping benchmarks rangebound until there is clarity on U.S. tariffs. Ten of the 16 major sectors declined, while broader small-cap and mid-cap indexes were little changed. Index heavyweights HDFC Bank ( opens new tab fell 1.1% while Reliance Industries ( opens new tab and ICICI Bank ( opens new tab lost about 0.8% each. "Markets have seen a subdued start as the fresh threat by the U.S. government to substantially raise tariffs on India weighed," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of research at Mehta Equities. Trump's threat to raise tariffs on India over Russian oil is a major risk, which could hit exports harder than expected, dent fiscal year 2026 growth and earnings, said three analysts. "Domestic markets will likely continue to see bouts of intraday volatility and nervousness amongst the investors," Tapse said. Among individual stocks, private lender IndusInd Bank climbed 4.7% after naming industry veteran Rajiv Anand as its chief executive for a three-year term. Siemens Energy ( opens new tab rose 2% after posting a rise in the June quarter profit. Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances ( opens new tab jumped 8% after its first-quarter profit more than doubled on a year-on-year basis. On the flipside, Triveni Turbine < dropped 7% after reporting a fall in the June quarter profit.
