Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said diversifying supply chains and strengthening regional cooperation are crucial to enhancing maritime interdependence among like-minded nations amid a strained security environment.
In an address at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue, Singh, without naming any country, said certain "actors" and "nations" are seeking to exploit the criticality of oceans for narrow unilateral gains as he called for building resilience to combat challenges in the maritime domain.
Describing oceans as bridges rather than barriers among nations, he highlighted their role in sustaining livelihoods and facilitating the exchange of goods, knowledge and culture.
The defence minister said that the maritime future of the Indo-Pacific cannot be shaped by any single country acting alone, in remarks that came amid growing global concerns over China's military muscle flexing in the Indo-Pacific region.
"The global maritime security environment is strained by deliberate trade disruptions. We see blatant challenges to the freedom of navigation and the weaponisation of narrow maritime passages," he said.
"This growing instability in the maritime domain casts a long shadow over the broader international order," he added.
Singh asserted that the answer to the vulnerabilities of an interconnected world lies in building resilience, emphasising that globalisation cannot be abandoned in response to every disruption, nor should maritime spaces that have enabled human progress be closed.
He stressed that the objective must be to make interdependence more secure.
Highlighting the evolving nature of maritime security, the defence minister said challenges could arise not only from conventional military activities but also from non-traditional threats such as piracy, trafficking, illegal fishing, cyber-attacks and natural disasters.
He underscored the need for maritime security to evolve with the changing maritime domain.
"Artificial intelligence is changing the way data is processed, while autonomous systems are expanding the possibilities of surveillance & operations."
"New sensors are improving our ability to observe the oceans. Advances in materials, biotechnology and data analytics are opening new avenues for research and application," he said.
Singh said these developments have enormous implications for maritime security and economic activity.
"But technology, by itself, is not the answer. The more important question is how we use technology to address real challenges," he said.
Singh also underlined that technology must not become another source of inequality among nations as the Indo-Pacific includes countries with different levels of technological and economic capability.
"Some possess advanced research infrastructure. Others are still developing the institutional and human resources required to participate fully in this transformation. If technological progress benefits only a limited number of countries, we will not achieve the collective resilience that our region requires," he said.
The defence minister called for promoting cooperation in research, education, innovation and capacity building, stating that a stronger scientific capability in one country can contribute to the security and prosperity of the entire region.
Terming it particularly important for smaller maritime nations and developing countries, he said the most useful technology is not necessarily the most expensive or sophisticated; it is the one that solves a real problem.
(With inputs from PTI)