‘Irresponsible nations’ stalling ‘rules-based’ maritime order: Rajnath
The Hindu
Defence Minister commissions stealth-guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam
Stating that global security reasons, border disputes and maritime dominance have forced countries to move towards strengthening their military power, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that some “irresponsible nations”, for narrow partisan interests, keep on giving “new and inappropriate” interpretations to international laws. These are creating obstacles in the path of a “rule-based maritime order” the Minister said.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the first Project-15B class stealth guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam, in Mumbai, Mr. Singh said, “In the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, territorial waters of nations, exclusive economic zones and the principle of ‘Good order at sea’ have been propounded. Some irresponsible nations, for the sake of their narrow partisan interests, keep on giving new and inappropriate interpretations to these international laws from hegemonic tendencies. The arbitrary interpretations create obstacles in the path of a rule-based maritime order.”
“We envision a rule-based Indo-Pacific, with freedom of navigation, free trade and universal values, in which the interests of all the participating countries are protected,” Mr. Singh stated.