Terror, new challenges need all navies to join hands, says Rajnath | India News
Visakhapatnam: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh As India launches its largest-ever multilateral naval exercise, Exercise Milan-2026, it has urged world powers to address rapidly evolving, interconnected maritime threats through respect and mutual cooperation.“When our ships sail together, when our sailors train together and when our commanders exercise together, we create a shared understanding that transcends geography and politics,” he said Thursday.The defense minister addressed the visiting naval chiefs and representatives of nine ASEAN members at the opening ceremony, welcoming the participation which has grown from four foreign navies in 1995 to 74 countries this year.He said the navy was now carrying a greater burden as global trade increased and competition intensified around chokepoints and channels. Interest in underwater resources including rare earth minerals is increasing. Expanding terrorist networks across borders complicate security, while climate change exacerbates disasters and pushes humanitarian missions to the fore. “No single navy, however capable, can tackle these challenges alone,” Singh said.Inviting ASEAN countries to tap India’s growing defense-industrial base, he said the government’s self-reliant India push led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had transformed India into a “builder’s navy”. He cited the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and the Visakhapatnam-class destroyers as proof of growing indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.Singh refers to India’s maritime perspective from SAGAR to his expanded vision, Oceans, which indicates extensive involvement. He supports the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as a sustainable framework and calls for a strong global naval architecture. He said India would remain a steadfast “global ally” in the Indo-Pacific region.
