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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called for to re-assess threat perception, and re-balance military resources and strategic attention in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
He was addressing Senior Defence officials and Navy personnel during the inauguration of the new administrative and training building of the Naval War College at INS Mandovi. "The movement of our adversaries in the Indian Ocean Region is increasing in the last few years and the way the commercial importance of the Indo-Pacific region is increasing. It is required for India to improve threat perception accordingly. Given the opportunities and challenges emerging for global trade in the Indo-Pacific region, many experts believe that the scope of work of the Indian Navy is most closely associated with India's economic interests," the Defence Minister said. Singh said that almost all the governments of India remained focused on how to strengthen India's land borders as India faced twin threats from China and Pakistan after independence, but maritime threats were not given as much importance. He said that it was like ignoring the lessons learned from history. "European imperialism in India emerged through the maritime route," he said. Lauding the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "India's role in the Indian Ocean has been re-imagined and also moved forward in strengthening it with many new deployments and indigenization of the Navy. As a result, India has emerged as the first responder and preferred security partner in the Indian Ocean." He said that the Indian Navy is getting stronger with new shipyards and an increasing number of aircraft carriers. "This growing power of India is not to achieve dominance in the Indian Ocean, but to create an environment of peace and prosperity in the region. India's increasing naval power will not only protect the country from the increasing naval power of adversaries but is also providing an environment of security to other stakeholders in the Indian Ocean," he added. (ANI)
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