Positioning India as a net security provider for the South Asian and Indian Ocean regions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the nation’s security has never been stronger than it is today and its global ties never more conducive for development.
“We have also sought to assume our responsibility for stability in the Indian Ocean region. We are well positioned, therefore, to become a net provider of security in our immediate region and beyond,” Singh said, addressing an event to mark the foundation stone laying for India’s first defence university in Gurgaon near here.
Noting that India sought to advance peace, stability, friendship and cooperation in the Asian region and beyond, he said it was being done with the confidence that its armed forces can defend the nation against any threat.
“Over the past nine years, our deterrence capabilities have also matured and have been given concrete shape. At the same time, we are better equipped today to deal with non-conventional threats, especially in the cyber and space domains.
“We are implementing a national architecture for cyber security and have taken steps to create an office of a national cyber security coordinator,” he said, talking of the steps to strengthen defence capabilities.
Pointing out that India faced the entire spectrum of security challenges, the Prime Minister said it was inevitable, “as we live in a difficult neighbourhood, which holds the full range of conventional, strategic and non-traditional challenges.”
India, he said, was situated at the strategic crossroads of Asia and astride one of the busiest sea-lanes of the world. “We inhabit a networked and digital world. Our dependence on imported energy is significant and is likely to grow. We are also living at a moment in history when the world is witnessing change on a scale and at a speed rarely seen before,” he said.
The change was most pronounced in Asia, Singh said, noting that that was why Asians were witnessing multiple security challenges on account of the intersection of fragile states, internal conflicts, proliferation of arms and terrorist groups.
“Explosive development of technology is transforming defence capabilities. As our dependence on cyber and outer space domains grows, new sets of challenges will emerge, which can also assume military dimensions,” he added.