India Has Never Been Aggressor But Won’t Hesitate In Using Strength For Its Defense: Rajnath Singh

“India has never been an aggressor in its history nor will it ever be. But that does not mean that India would balk at using its strength to defend itself," said Rajnath Singh.

Image tweeted by @rajnathsingh

New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that India has never been an aggressor in history but would not hesitate in using its strength to defend itself, while addressing a special session of ‘Seoul Defense Dialogue’  in South Korea’s capital. Singh said: “India has never been an aggressor in its history nor will it ever be. But that does not mean that India would balk at using its strength to defend itself.” He also tweeted the same from his official Twitter handle.

India has never been an aggressor in its history nor will it ever be. But that does not mean that India would balk at using its strength to defend itself.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 5, 2019

Singh arrived in Seoul on Wednesday with an aim to intensify defense and security ties. India is developing strong military hardware cooperation with South Korea as the Indian Army has already inducted the K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzers built in partnership with the Indian firm Larsen and Toubro The Defence Minister will also be attending a CEO's Forum on Thursday followed by a Business-to-Government (B2G) meeting with the participation of members of the Defence Industry from both sides with an aim to encourage co-operation between defence Industry of India and the Republic of Korea. Upon his arrival here yesterday, Singh met South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yon and discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to bilateral ties. The two leaders further noted with appreciation that South Korea's 'New Southern Policy' and India's 'Act East Policy' shared the same perspective and goals. The elevation of bilateral relations to a Special Strategic Partnership in 2015 has heralded a new era in India-Korea relations. Prime Minister Lee expressed that the South Korean government's desire for active cooperation with India in diplomatic as well as national security and defense policy arenas. Rajnath Singh's statement comes amid the heightened military tension between India and Pakistan following the withdrawal of special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5. In the last week of August, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had warned about nuclear warfare in the Indo-Pak region during an address to his nation. "If this issue worsens to a war-like situation, then one must remember that both the countries are nuclear states. And no one wins a nuclear war. Whether the world supports us or not, Pakistan will go to any length now," he had said. However, Imran Khan made a complete U-turn on Pakistan's nuclear doctrine earlier this week when he said that his country is committed to the 'no first use' policy. (inputs from agencies)