In his first visit after assuming charge as the Union Defence Minister for the second term, Rajnath Singh on Friday visited INS Jalashwa in Vishakhapatnam. While there, Singh stated that India will never permit 'Matsya Nyay' to prevail in the Indian Ocean Region.
Matsya Nyay is an ancient Indian philosophy which describes the law of nature when the strong devours the weak. During his visit, Singh reviewed the preparedness of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.
Stressing that the concept of Matsya Nyay will not prevail in the Indian Ocean Region, Singh said: "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 added.
The Defence Minister further stated that the focus of the government is on strengthening the maritime security of India and making its naval power presence in the IOR more robust and effective, ANI reported.
Referring to 'Matsya Nyay' he explained that in the Indo-Pacific region Navy ensures that "no nation can suppress another nation, or crush its sovereignty or strategic autonomy, on the basis of its overwhelming economic strength or military power."
Linking this with PM Modi's SAGAR vision, Rajnath Singh stressed that a similar sentiment is reflected in the Prime Minister's vision of Security And Growth for All in the Region. Under this, "all partner countries in the region remain safe and move ahead together on the path of mutual progress," he added.
'Focused On Strengthening India's Maritime Security Further': Rajnath Singh
Speaking with the Eastern Naval Command, the Defence Minister drew comparisons with his previous tenure and how the northern borders and their connectivity with the rest of the country were in focus.
"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," Singh said.
He further said that this did not mean that the Centre did not pay attention to the Indian Ocean Region.
Elaborating on the government's plans for the Navy, he said: "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."
India's National Interest Closely Linked To Its Maritime Security
Rajnath Singh further highlighted the role played by the Indian Navy in ensuring the security of the maritime border, adding that 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," he said.
Calling Indian Navy a medium to achive India's wider national interests, Rajnath Singh said, "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.