Can be argued IRIS Dena sinking was illegal: Sri Lankan MP Namal Rajapaksa

Following the incident which claimed 87 lives, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that around 180 people were on board the Moudge-class frigate IRIS Dena when it went down about 40 nautical miles off the island.

A week after at least 87 people were killed when a US submarine struck and sank Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka, Namal Rajapaksa, the island nation's Member of Parliament representing his country at India Today Conclave 2026, called the attack unethical and stressed that the legality of it could be argued.

After a US submarine hit Dena on March 4, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said an American submarine had carried out the strike on the Iranian vessel near Sri Lanka’s southern coast, marking a major escalation in naval operations in the region.

The development raised a lot of eyebrows across the globe with many questioning the US aggression in India's backyard.

Rajapaksa, the eldest son of former Sri Lankan President and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said that the incident raised important legal and ethical questions for countries in the region.

"The legality of it can certainly be debated," Rajapaksa said, adding that scholars may argue over whether the action violated international law. However, he questioned whether the same legal and humanitarian principles promoted globally are being applied consistently in current conflicts.

Rajapaksa said the situation also raises broader concerns about the conduct of major powers in the Indian Ocean. “Beyond the legal debate, there are moral values and ethics involved, and the established practices of the Indian Ocean are being broken,” he said.