New Delhi, India is ready to share its “battle-tested” counter-terror expertise with ASEAN and its dialogue partners, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday as he described Operation Sindoor as a declaration of New Delhi’s clear approach against state-sponsored terrorist activities.
“India’s emphasis on the rule of law, and particularly on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , as well as its advocacy for freedom of navigation and overflight, is not against any country.
The defence minister also said that India supports an Indo-Pacific that is secure and resilient one where peace and stability are not merely aspirations, but the outcome of collective efforts. In an address at a conclave of defence ministers of ASEAN member states and the bloc’s dialogue partners in Cebu in the Philippines, he flagged concerns over disruptions in certain maritime trade routes and asserted that India will continue to act as a “trusted net security provider” in the Indian Ocean region and the wider Indo-Pacific. “Today, when global trade routes are facing new types of international threats, merely issuing statements on maritime security is not enough,” he said at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus conclave. “India is fully prepared to share its practical and battle-tested counter-terrorism expertise with ADMM-Plus partners,” he said. The defence minister said that a major example of India’s approach against terrorism was last year’s Operation Sindoor when a large number of terrorist infrastructures were destroyed. “This was also a declaration of India’s clear approach against state-sponsored terror,” he said. Rather, its purpose is to protect the collective interests of all regional stakeholders,” he said.
