India’s growing power is for peace, prosperity in Indo-Pacific: Rajnath Singh

Panaji, Mar 5: Defense minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that India’s growing power is not for dominance but to create an environment of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

“The idea is not to achieve dominance, but to create an environment of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. The increasing naval power not only protects us from our adversaries but also provides an environment of security to other stakeholders in the Indian Ocean,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said while speaking after inaugurating the new Administrative and Training building at Naval War College in Verem- Goa.

He said that the Navy has achieved remarkable success in establishing new infrastructure, equipment and warfare infrastructure thereby strengthening its naval power.

He also lauded the Navy for creating a world-class state-of-the-art training facility that resonates with India's stature among the maritime powers of the world.

“Earlier, almost all the governments focused on strengthening land borders, but maritime threats were not given as much importance,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.

He said that in view of the increased movement of our adversaries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and the commercial importance of the region, it was necessary to re-assess our threat perception and accordingly re-balance our military resources and strategic attention.

“If India becomes stronger, not only the areas around it will progress, but democracy and the rule of law will also be strengthened. We were once known as a landlocked country with sea shores but now we can be seen as an island country with land borders,” the Defence Minister said.

The minister said that the resources and opportunities available in this region will be the factors of India's prosperity, which makes the Indian Navy’s role even more important in the future.

He said that most of the goods trade takes place through the sea route, with the Indo-Pacific region emerging as its hub.

“Due to the increasing goods trade, many threats such as incidents of piracy and trafficking have come to the fore,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.