New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India is now seen as a preferred security partner in the Indian Ocean region. He praised the Indian Navy for playing a vital role in promoting peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean, saying the region is extremely valuable and sensitive from economic, geopolitical, trade and security perspectives.

The Defence Minister emphasised at the second meeting of Naval Commanders here on Thursday that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked towards making the Indian Navy self-reliant by enhancing its capabilities by equipping it with ultra-modern warships, submarines etc. Now the Navy will be made completely self-reliant by the year 2047 from being a single buyer.

64 ships and submarines are under construction: Rajnath Singh 

The Defence Minister said that 64 ships and submarines are currently under construction in Indian shipyards. Orders have also been placed for construction of 24 additional platforms. In the last five years, two-thirds of the Navy's modernisation budget has been spent on indigenous acquisitions. This has led to tremendous development of the domestic defence ecosystem.

Explaining the military security perspective, he said that earlier India was seen as a landlocked country with coastal areas, but now it is seen as an island country which also has borders on land. He said that a large part of global trade passes through this region. This makes this oceanic region valuable, but this region is also highly vulnerable to pirates, hijacking of ships, drone attacks, missile attacks and disruption of marine cable connections.