Days after, MV Chem Pluto, a merchant ship, was hit by a suspected drone strike in the Arabian Sea near Gujarat coast on Dec 23, India has issued a stern warning to the attackers of the merchant vessels near the Indian sea borders. Defence Minister, in an event in Mumbai, openly said about the India drone strike that “they will hunt down the culprits from the bottom of the sea.” Moreover, Indian Navy also assured that they will take ‘robust action’ and will intensify monitoring. Notably, 20 Indians were onboard the ship during the incident that took place 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast. While, no one has claimed responsibility for the drone strike in the Arabian sea, US Central Command claimed that the drone attack was fired by Iran-backed Houthi militants. Houthi forces in Yemen have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks as revenge against Israel. However, the Indian Navy on Dec 24 clarified that it wasn’t an India-flagged vessel, as claimed by the US earlier. India, a strong advocate for the free movement of commercial shipping, is monitoring these attacks.