Modi Pulls Hollande Aside at G-20 Meet and Quizzes Him on Scorpene Sub Data Leak

India had earlier chosen to downplay the issue by denying any possible compromise to national security due to the leak.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China. The two leaders reportedly discussed issues pertaining to the recent leakage of 'sensitive' data related to the Scorpene class submarines that are to be inducted into the Indian Navy. India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the reports in a statement. Another statement said the two leaders held a ‘pull aside meeting’ on the second day of the G-20 Summit.

Strengthening the Strategic Partnership with France. PM @narendramodi has a quick pull aside with President Hollande pic.twitter.com/4nVA1Uqzln

— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) 5 сентября 2016 г.

​According to Vikas Swarup, spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, "This issue (the Scorpene data leak) also figured in the talks."

In a series of revelations in the last week of August, The Australian reported that it had 22,400 pages of data which included sensitive details about the ongoing construction of six Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy.  The newspaper published excerpts from the file that allegedly had details on the key stealth capabilities of the Indian submarines including, what frequencies the submarines gather intelligence at, what levels of noise they make at various speeds, as well as their diving depths, and the specifications of the submarine’s torpedo launch system and combat system.

However, India had chosen to downplay the matter by saying that the leaked documents did not compromise India's security. India had also sought a report from the director general of armaments of the French government. Meanwhile, sources say that the Ministry of Defense has yet to get a report from the French authorities. India is itself undertaking a detailed assessment of the potential impact of the leak.