Freedom of Navigation Operations(FONOP):
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Freedom of Navigation Operations involves passages conducted by the US Navy in the exclusive territorial waters of coastal nations.
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Purpose: These operations denotes that the United States did not agree to the exclusive maritime claims of coastal nations. Thus preventing those claims from becoming accepted in international law.
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According to the US Department of Defense (DoD), the FONOP Program has existed for 40 years. So far, the program continuously reaffirmed the US policy of exercising and asserting its navigation and freedom rights around the world.
Why in News?
US seventh fleet has carried out a Freedom of Navigation operation(FONOP) approximately 130 nautical miles west of Lakshadweep Islands. This is inside India’s exclusive economic zone. But the US never received India’s prior consent to conduct such an operation.
India’s Response:
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India has protested the U.S. decision to conduct a patrol in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) in the western Indian Ocean.
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Further, India also said that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) does not authorise other States to carry out military exercises in the EEZ. Especially those exercises involving the use of weapons or explosives without the consent of the coastal state.
Note: India has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1995. However, the United States(US) is not a signatory.