hey guys,check out this interesting news article,it seems that indian wants to deploy its navy abroad to protect its oil interests ,i wonder what would be the implication of this move,i believe this move would be carried out on a reciprocal basis.
here is the link and the article:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=168952
KOLKATA, JUL 2 : The Union government is thinking of sending the Indian Navy to places where the country has oil interests and especially in areas where ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has invested in oil and gas exploration.
Pranab Mukherjee, Union external affairs minister, said that maritime diplomacy has become an essential component of India's foreign policy and its maritime interests have to grow far beyond its primary area.
Indian Navy to keep eye on oil interests abroad
: The Union government is thinking of sending the Indian Navy to places where the country has oil interests and especially in areas where ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has invested in oil and gas exploration.
Pranab Mukherjee, Union external affairs minister, said that maritime diplomacy has become an essential component of India's foreign policy and its maritime interests have to grow far beyond its primary area.
"We have to look at the investments ONGC Videsh is making in energy rich areas such as Sakhalin, Sudan, Nigeria and Venezuela and extend our maritime interests through maritime diplomacy," Mukherjee said.
OVL has 24 oil and gas properties in 14 countries at present.
Mukherjee said as the Indian Navy and Coast Guard function as a "major stabilising force in the movement of energy resources across the Indian ocean for all the energy intensive economies", so the naval forces of other countries are expected to co-operate with the Indian Navy for India's oil interest.
"Almost 1000 million tonne of oil from West Asia passes along the international shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean, close to our shore, annually, and the greater portion of this is destined for oil intensive economies of the US, China and Japan," Mukherjee said.
He said that around 45% of the world's oil demand is attributable to the rising energy needs of China and 70% of its oil import comes from West Asia and Africa through the shipping lanes of Indian Ocean.
"Therefore Indian Navy and Coast Guard are functioning not just for India's interest but for the world at large," Mukherjee said.
He told FE that the international law makes it "perfectly legal for ships to (come) close to the coast of another nation to as little as 12 nautical miles, which is the maximum breadth of any nation's territorial waters".
So, he said, Indian naval ships cannot be deprived of the rights of `innocent' passage within the 12 nautical mile belt of other nations. India is already engaged with the US, Russia, France UK and Japan to address strong maritime challenges and has recently concluded bilateral arrangements with Thailand and Indonesia for co-ordinated patrols by the three navies at the north of Malacca Straits in the Bay of Bengal. Suresh Mehta, chief of naval staff, said the Indian Navy is conducting peacetime exercise with the US, China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. It plans to hold international naval symposium in Delhi early next year with 32 countries participating in it.
. Most of it is through a 50% stake in a holding company (Lagardere has the other 50%) which owns 29.6%. Daimler controls 22.5% (15% owned, 7.5% owned by its German partners) & the Spanish state 5.5%, & those stakes are in a partnership which controls the company. The partnership has rules which mean that in effect Daimler can't be outvoted by the French government & Lagardere acting together, because it can force them, in that case to buy its shares at a favourable (to Daimler) price. Bloody complicated, but all done to make sure the French don't control EADS. Just strong influence,