By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer


Iran’s hosting of the 6th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) with the participation of 35 high-ranking naval delegations from across the world, and its assuming of chairmanship of IONS for the next two years, is indicative of the growing stature of the Islamic Republic on the regional and international scene.
A powerful navy is a necessity for safeguarding the peace and stability on the high seas, especially on the vast Indian Ocean, parts of which are infested with pirates, while in other parts intruders from the other side of the world have ventured in and set up naval bases to destabilize regional countries.
The countries on the rim of this vast body of waters should coordinate and cooperate with each other, or else outsiders like the US, whose client regimes rule some of the rim states, will exploit the situation to create chaos and cause economic troubles.
On Monday, in his inaugural address to the IONS gathering in Tehran, Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, spelled out the dangers threatening rim countries.
He termed the recent missile strikes on Syria by the US, UK and France as "illegal”, and censured these outside powers for supplying lethal weapons to client regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, to plunge West Asia into war and chaos.
He made it clear: "The widespread military presence of certain major powers and their interventions in the Indian Ocean region has caused nothing but further insecurity, such as the relentless airstrikes on Yemeni people.”
Baqeri also reiterated that on no account will the Islamic Republic of Iran yield to the pressures of Global Arrogance, and in coordination with independent countries and popular movements, it will strengthen the Resistance Movement.
IONS is composed of 23 permanent members including Iran, and several other countries with observer status such as France, South Africa and Singapore. The previous rounds of the biennial event were held in India, the UAE, South Africa, Australia and Bangladesh.
The IONS as voluntary initiative aims to increase maritime cooperation among the navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
Iran, which is the most advanced seafaring nation in the Persian Gulf-Red Sea region, is capable of thwarting the designs of the outsiders, whether concerning regional stability or the dangers to the merchant fleets posed by pirates and the hirelings of Global Arrogance.
The flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to various world countries, warrants safety of the shipping lanes, and if rim countries cooperate with each other, the threats to commercial shipping will be greatly reduced.
Iran’s Army Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hussein Khanzadi in his speech at the IONS meeting on Tuesday, said it was the biggest military conference of its kind held in Iran since the Islamic Revolution.
He disclosed that due to the importance of the IONS, the United States has applied for observer status, but its request has not been accepted.
As a matter of fact, all members should coordinate views in order to keep out the US, which has no right to be in the waters of the Indian Ocean, and should wind up its bases in the rim countries.
Only a strong IONS, free of US interferences, could guarantee the independence of rim states.