Spanish Navy BAM Relampago departs toward the Indian Ocean to fight against piracy

El BAM Relámpago parte rumbo al Índico para participar en la lucha contra piratería http://t.co/bElvOVhXYM #Atalanta pic.twitter.com/ktRUv4dZts

— Armada Española (@Armada_esp) February 24, 2014

Australia seeks 7 MQ-4C Triton drones for Indian Ocean overwatch

Rising Indian Ocean rivalries as China seeks to safeguard key energy lifelines loom behind an Australian push for a $3 billion fleet of maritime superdrones, which will likely boost intelligence sharing with the United States.
With elections looming and pressure for budget savings, the purchase of up to seven MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft has emerged as rare point of bipartisan agreement between Australia's Labor government and conservative opponents, but both sides are reluctant to discuss their wider strategic aims.
reuters

Britain rejects US request to use UK bases in nuclear standoff with Iran

Britain has rebuffed US pleas to use military bases in the UK to support the build-up of forces in the Gulf, citing secret legal advice which states that any pre-emptive strike on Iran could be in breach of international law.

The Guardian has been told that US diplomats have also lobbied for the use of British bases in Cyprus, and for permission to fly from US bases on Ascension Island in the Atlantic and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, both of which are British territories.

The US approaches are part of contingency planning over the nuclear standoff with Tehran, but British ministers have so far reacted coolly. They have pointed US officials to legal advice drafted by the attorney general's office which has been circulated to Downing Street, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence.

guardian