The Indian Coast Guard has deployed four offshore patrol vessels equipped with advanced helicopters to carry out extended surveillance along India's maritime border in the Arabian Sea.
The deployment follows an attack on the merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto' in the Arabian Sea on Saturday.
According to military authorities speaking to the media, Coast Guard patrol boats are monitoring any suspicious behaviour in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Arabian Sea where the incident occurred.
The coastguard's Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft has increased its missions by more than 50% to monitor the area and provide rapid assistance if needed, officials said.
Similarly, to protect merchant shipping and the Indian coast in the Middle East, the Indian Navy has now deployed five frontline guided missile destroyers, a logistics tanker, Boeing P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft and a long-endurance Sea Guardian drone along the Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) between Bab el-Mandeb and the Indian coast.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh vowed on Tuesday to track down the perpetrators, even if they are hiding in the 'depths of the sea'.
A drone struck the chemical tanker MV Chem Pluto off the west coast of India on Saturday, raising concerns that the Houthis are targeting other commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict.