Dibang: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday said India had become an assertor from a mere observer and that the Indian military was commanding respect from across the globe. Rajnath was meeting the soldiers during his visit to the forward posts in Arunachal Pradesh's Dibang valley facing China.
Rajnath's remark came at a time when China is continuously upgrading its infrastructure along the border and refusing to accept India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh and christening it as South Tibet. Arunachal Pradesh shares about 1,080 km of its border with China in the North and North East.
"There was a time when India wasn’t taken seriously on international platforms. Due to the efforts of our Prime Minister, today we have become an assertor from a mere observer. Indian military is respected all over the globe," Rajnath was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Defence Ministry.
"Our friendly foreign countries have trust in them. It is one of the major reasons India has emerged as a powerful nation," the Defence Minister said, attributing the contribution of Armed Forces as one of the factors. Today, we are the fifth largest economy in the world, strongly moving forward, he added.
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Strengthening India’s military prowess has been the Government’s top priority ever since it came to power since 2014, with focus on equipping the Services with state-of-the-art weapons/equipment through an ‘Aatmanirbhar’ defence industry, Rajnath said. He added that India’s international image has completely been transformed due to the bold decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the gallant deeds of the Armed Forces.
During his two-day visit, the Minister made an on-the-ground assessment of the country’s defence preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by taking stock of the entire gamut of security-related aspects. Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and Eastern Command's General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoCC) Lt Gen RP Kalita, accompanied the Minister during the review.
