A Shift In Policy As India Joins Multinational Force Not Led By UN

Buried 12 paragraphs deep in the joint statement issued at the end of the India-U.S. 2+2 dialogue earlier this month is a three-line paragraph that says less than what it means: “The Ministers welcomed India’s full membership of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) headquartered in Bahrain.” The CMF is a U.S.-led multinational naval force set up in 2001 initially to counter international terrorism. Today, its mission has broadened to cover piracy at sea, maritime security operations in and around the Arabian Gulf, security in the Red Sea and training. It comprises navies from 38 countries with India making up the 39th....Read More