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Long voyage for the 'Silent Service'

The navy's capabilities are key to why the US is keen on partnering India in the Indo-Pacific

INS Teg, one of the Indian Navy's Krivak III frigates, sails into the South African Navy base at Simon's Town.
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INS Teg, one of the Indian Navy's Krivak III frigates, sails into the South African Navy base at Simon's Town.

Ajai Shukla
Tuesday is the annual Navy Day, when the so-called “Silent Service” celebrates the stellar success of Operation Trident on December 4, 1971 — the bombing of Karachi harbour by three Russian-built missile boats of the navy’s Killer Squadron. The attack sank one Pakistani destroyer, badly damaged another, sank a minesweeper and a cargo vessel filled with ammunition. It set ablaze fuel storage tanks in Karachi port, causing a national fuel shortage that hamstrung Pakistan through the war. 

The Karachi attack was borne of desperation. The navy had remained on the sidelines in all three previous wars -- the 1947-48 war with
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