Maritime disputes across the vast South China Sea have ratcheted up in recent years as an increasingly assertive China militarises disputed islands and confronts its regional rivals over their competing claims in the strategically important and resource-rich waterway.
The Prime Minister said that history bears testimony that India's maritime capabilities have always benefited the world and listed the systematic steps undertaken to strengthen the sector in the last few years
India and Philippines on Thursday co-chaired the 5th Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) here.
For the first time, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar will visit Ladakh in the first week of July to urge youth from the Union Territory to join the maritime force.
The Indian defence forces will deploy the 31 Predator drones at three major hubs across the country to carry out surveillance of all areas, including the borders with China and Pakistan, and the vast maritime zone.
In the last eight years, he said the government has focused on port-led development which was essential for economic growth and building an ''Aatmanirbhar Bharat''
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The two-day conclave witnessed the participation of ships and aircraft of the Indian Navy (IN), Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN). They operated over a vast area in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the three countries in the Southern Arabian Sea.
Modi called for resolving maritime disputes peacefully and cited the example in the South Asian region of India and Bangladesh.
According to the Indian Navy, the INS Khanderi is one of the most potent platforms to have been constructed in India that can compare with the best in the world.
