Jaishankar protests to Rubio over US strike killing Indian seafarers near Oman

📌 Summary:

• The row over the killing of three Indian seafarers in a US missile strike on a commercial ship (MT Settebello) near Oman escalated on Friday
• EAM S Jaishankar (on a visit to Finland) spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed India's strong protest over US Navy attacks on commercial vessels while enforcing a naval blockade of Iran
• Jaishankar said such 'lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified'
• The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the US charge d'affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in under 48 hours over the attacks
• The episode raises questions over freedom of navigation, safety of Indian mariners (a large share of global seafarers are Indian), and India-US ties amid the West Asia conflict

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (International Relations) — India-US relations, India's diplomatic protest mechanisms (summoning envoys), and the intersection with GS3 maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Gulf/Strait of Hormuz.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• MT Settebello was the commercial ship struck near Oman
• 'Summoning' a charge d'affaires is a formal diplomatic protest; Jason Meeks is the US charge d'affaires
• Indians make up a significant share of the global merchant-navy workforce

🔑 Key Term: Freedom of navigation — the principle under UNCLOS that ships of all states enjoy the right of innocent/transit passage through international waters and straits.