Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that India will never allow ‘Matsya Nyay’ to prevail in the Indian Ocean Region wherein the strong devour the weak.
Singh said this while visiting INS Jalashwa to review the preparedness of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. It was his first visit after taking over charge of Defence Minister for the second term.
“We do not accept the ‘Matsya Nyay’ where a big fish eats a smaller fish. Working together with our friend nations, we will progress on the path of ‘sarvajan hitay sarvajan sukhay’ (welfare for all, happiness for all); we will not let the Indian Ocean region become a ‘Matsya Nyay’ region,” he said.
He also said that the government’s focus will be on further strengthening India’s maritime security and making its naval power presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) more effective and robust.
“Navy ensures that in the Indo-Pacific region, no nation can suppress another nation, or crush its sovereignty or strategic autonomy, on the basis of its overwhelming economic strength or military power,” he explained in the context of ‘Matsya Nyay.
The same sentiment is reflected in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’, i.e. Security And Growth for All in the Region, that all partner countries in the region remain safe and move ahead together on the path of mutual progress, he added.
Speaking about his visit to Eastern Naval Command, he said his first visit always has a message.
“Last time I started from Siachen, it was in a way showing the commitment of the government towards the security of the country. It showed that our focus was completely on the northern borders. And we did that in our last tenure, whether it was infrastructure development on the northern border, connecting the border areas with the rest of the country through roads, or securing peace and stability on the northern borders, our government focused on all these areas in the last tenure,” he said.
However, this does not mean that the government did not pay attention to the Indian Ocean Region in its last tenure, he added.
“We had paid full attention to our Navy and maritime security in that tenure as well, but in this tenure, through my first visit among our naval warriors, I would like to tell that now our focus will be on strengthening India’s maritime security further and making the presence of our naval power in the Indian Ocean region more effective and robust,” he said.
India’s national interest is closely linked to its maritime security. The strength of maritime security is a guarantee of the strength of the country’s sovereignty. The growing strength of the Indian Navy ensures the security of the maritime border, he added.
“Apart from security, our country’s wider interests are also linked to the IOR. We know that our trade takes place on a large scale through the Indian Ocean. Our commercial interests are linked to it. India is a big stakeholder in the fisheries and mining-related activities taking place in this region. Our wider national interests are linked to the Indian Ocean region. In such a situation, the Indian Navy, apart from securing the maritime border, is also a medium to achieve our wider national interests,” he added. (ANI)