Poor defence

Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Defence policy at sea” (February 28). The tug of war between the Defence Minister and the Navy chief who has resigned has hit the morale of the defence personnel. Now the situation has snowballed into a major controversy. 

Though it appears that Admiral DK Joshi has paid the price for the Government’s callous attitude towards defence safety and military preparedness in general, and the importance of the Navy in particular, Admiral Joshi’s prompt resignation and its equally swift acceptance by the Government has raised eyebrows. 

The Navy’s recent record has been dismal in recent months, with several vessels including submarines, being involved in mishaps — both technical and man-made. However, considering the fact that many of these vessels are well past their shelf life, the moot question is: Were the submarines compelled to operate beyond their expiry dateIJ Were the standard operating procedures not up to the markIJ Due to the paucity of new submarines, the older ones are said to be used more often than necessary. 

All of these issues point to the Defence Ministry’s inability to learn from past experiences and its unwillingness to keep pace with modern times. It is time for  Defence Minister AK Antony to stop taking shelter in Admiral Joshi’s resignation and own  up accountability.