AIRLINK 166.99 Increased By ▲ 9.58 (6.09%)
BOP 10.60 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (2.22%)
CNERGY 8.52 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (2.4%)
CPHL 96.62 Increased By ▲ 3.73 (4.02%)
FCCL 47.75 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (2.18%)
FFL 15.29 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (2.76%)
FLYNG 28.31 Increased By ▲ 1.33 (4.93%)
HUBC 138.52 Increased By ▲ 4.51 (3.37%)
HUMNL 12.90 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (3.04%)
KEL 4.53 Increased By ▲ 0.32 (7.6%)
KOSM 5.60 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (3.9%)
MLCF 63.15 Increased By ▲ 2.27 (3.73%)
OGDC 216.00 Increased By ▲ 7.48 (3.59%)
PACE 5.54 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.59%)
PAEL 44.26 Increased By ▲ 3.48 (8.53%)
PIAHCLA 18.80 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PIBTL 10.53 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (5.51%)
POWER 12.15 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (1.59%)
PPL 174.52 Increased By ▲ 5.75 (3.41%)
PRL 36.52 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (4.25%)
PTC 23.64 Increased By ▲ 0.65 (2.83%)
SEARL 96.22 Increased By ▲ 3.12 (3.35%)
SSGC 39.13 Increased By ▲ 3.56 (10.01%)
SYM 14.04 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (2.78%)
TELE 7.21 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (3.74%)
TPLP 10.29 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (2.9%)
TRG 62.50 Increased By ▲ 1.83 (3.02%)
WAVESAPP 10.08 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (3.92%)
WTL 1.34 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (3.08%)
YOUW 3.72 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.92%)
BR100 12,524 Increased By 285.2 (2.33%)
BR30 37,691 Increased By 1297.7 (3.57%)
KSE100 116,440 Increased By 2286.7 (2%)
KSE30 35,895 Increased By 694.8 (1.97%)

NEW DELHI: International power rivalry is playing out in the Indian Ocean region, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday, adding that a strong naval presence in the key trade route was his country’s biggest priority.

While Singh did not name any country, analysts say that China, which commands the world’s largest naval force with more than 370 ships, has been a security concern for India since ties nosedived in 2020 after 24 troops died in clashes along their Himalayan frontier.

The UK and the US also have a joint military base in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.

Chinese and Indian troops have pulled back from two face-off points after a deal was struck in October following a series of talks, but India’s army chief told reporters this week that “a degree of standoff” still persists.

“A large part of the world’s trade and commerce passes through the Indian Ocean region. Due to geo-strategic reasons, the region is also becoming a part of international power rivalry,” Defence Minister Singh said during the induction of one submarine and two navy ships in the city of Mumbai.

He said 95% of India’s trade, in terms of volume, is linked to the Indian Ocean region. “In such a situation, the presence of a strong Indian Navy becomes our biggest priority,” he said.

India has sought to counter China as Beijing grows its influence in India’s neighbourhood through investments and development projects in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

New Delhi plans to build a 175-ship strong naval force by 2035 with an increasing emphasis on using domestically made components, but analysts say the pace of construction is slow as compared to China, which builds almost 14 warships a year, while India constructs just four.

Comments

Comments are closed.