In the dock & at sea

They wanted hospitality but insisted on keeping their names to themselves. India, however, said there should be no secrets between friends. ...

They wanted hospitality but insisted on keeping their names to themselves. India, however, said there should be no secrets between friends. This little disagreement on matters of security and protocol has cast a shadow over Malabar, the Indo-US joint naval exercise scheduled for next month.

In some ways, the reception given to the two US navy ships that made routine visits to Mumbai recently should alert both countries that they need to sort some issues out to ensure, well, smooth sailing.

The big issue is whether the US

will tell its hosts just who it’s bringing to the party.

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It refused to do this on August 3 when USS Cushing, a Spruance-class guided missile destroyer deployed with the Japan-based Pacific Command called at Mumbai.

Citing security considerations, the ship refused to divulge the names of the 380 personnel on board. India, on the other hand, insisted on getting the list as the US sailors did not have visas.

As a result, the ship was not extended docking facility and was kept in the anchorage area till August 6. To further complicate the issue, the Americans wanted two of their crew to be allowed to disembark so that they could take a flight back to the US.

Eventually, the US Consulate had to intercede on behalf of the two sailors. Immigration authorities, however, refused to budge on the issue of allowing the ship to enter Mumbai harbour until the names of the crew were handed over. The ship spent three days in the anchorage area before turning back.

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Once the disagreement in procedures had come into the frame, the Western Naval Command was prepared with its response when USS Mary Sears, an oceanographic military survey ship with a crew of 55, sent in a request two weeks ago to dock in Mumbai on August 25. The Indian Navy said it couldn’t allow this unless names were handed over. As a result, the ship sailed by without stopping in Mumbai.

The strange thing is that both sides insist that their policies have remained unchanged, but there was never any trouble in the past. Said an embassy spokesperson: ‘‘It has been a longstanding US policy not to give out the names of the crew members. US ships sail across the world and there has never been a problem. We also do not insist that ships visiting the US part with the names of their crew.’’

In fact, sources said that while the US navy maintains a record of crew members who disembark when its ships dock in other countries, it does not share their names with the host.

Given that the stated policies of India and the US contrast so sharply on this point, a disagreement was bound to surface. Sources said that unofficial give-and-take on the part of both sides had smoothed such issues in the past. But once the dispute came into the open, both countries had to fall back on their official stands.

Now New Delhi and Washington are trying to resolve their differences ahead of Malabar, the joint naval exercise between the two countries in late September. ‘‘We are looking forward to Malabar and have been preparing for it. And we hope that these issues are resolved before that,’’ said the embassy spokesperson.