1. There's understandable anger in India over the US Seventh Fleet sailing near Lakshadweep in waters that are part of our exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). However, there is nothing in UNCLOS (the Law of the Sea) that supports India’s stand on freedom of navigation through the EEZ.
2. So the Americans are essentially doing near Lakshadweep exactly what they are insisting on doing in & through the South China Sea under the same Freedom of Navigation principle (FoNoPs). The US can be accused of not respecting our sensibilities but not of breaking int'nl law.
3. Some ask why the US has done to India what it hasn't done to Canada/UK/Australia etc by exercising FoNoPs through their EEZs. Since those are treaty allies, they have consultation agreements already in place with the US. India not, & is unlikely to ever be, an ally.
4. So the best we can hope for is an explicit undertaking to (1) inform India in advance as a courtesy and (2) not to publicize the fact that they have thumbed their noses at us. Our diplomacy should have negotiated this; nothing better would have been possible.
5. USA hasn't signed UNCLOS, but since FoNoPs is not in UNCLOS, the legal position is irrelevant. We need a pragmatic political approach rather than outrage about a legal breach that hasn't occurred. There has been discourtesy & disrespect, which must be addressed diplomatically.
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