India does not have any aggressive design, says PM

Visakhapatnam, July 26 (PTI) Prime Minister of India
Manmohan Singh on Sunday said that India does not have any
aggresive designs nor does it seek to threaten anyone but has
to take all measures necessary to safeguard the county.

Speaking at the launch of the country's nuclear-
powered submarine "Arihant" for sea trials, he said that the
sea was increasingly becoming relevant in the context of
security interest and India must re-adjust its military
preparedness to this changing environment.

Singh said, "We do not have any aggressive designs nor
do we seek to threaten anyone. We seek an external environment
in our region and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful
development and the protection of our value systems."

The Prime Minister said, "Nevertheless it is incumbent
upon us to take all measures necessary to safeguard our
country and to keep pace with technological advancements
world. It has rightly been said that eternal vigilance is the
right price for liberty".

Congratulating everyone associated with the Advanced
Technology Vessel (n-submarine) programme for achieving a
"historic milestone in the country's defence preparedness", he
said, "Today's launch is a reflection of the immense technical
expertise that exists in our country and the strength of our
research and development organisations".

Singh said, "More importantly, the launch represents
the determination and patriotism of our technologists,
scientists and defence personnel who have overcome several
hurdles and barriers to enable the country to acquire
self-reliance in the most advanced areas of defence
technology".

Singh said that the construction of a submarine was a
highly demanding task by itself and it was a "special
achievement" for the country to develop its first nuclear
submarine.

"Today we join a select group of five nations who
possess the capability to build a nuclear-powered submarine,"
he said.

Voicing happiness over the public-private partnership
in the building of the submarine, the Prime Minister said,"I
am particularly glad that this submarine is the outcome of a
productive public-private partnership. Private industry in
India has evolved considerably during the last few decades and
we should leverage its strength to achieve our defence goals."

Lauding the cooperation extended by Moscow, he said,
"I would also like to express our appreciation to our
Russian friends for their consistent and invaluable
cooperation, which symbolises the close strategic partnership
that we enjoy with Russia".

Underlining the responsibilities of the Navy, he said,

"the government is fully committed to ensuring the defence of
our national interests and the protection of our territorial
integrity. We will continue to render all support to the
constant modernisation of our armed forces and to ensuring
that they remain at the cutting edge of technology".
Stressing on the need for measures to safeguard the
country, Singh told a select gathering that "it has rightly
been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Noting that years of hard work, dedication and
perseverance have gone into the launch and this was worthy of
emulation, he said no task is difficult and there is no
greater power that the power of self-belief.
"I am confident that the lessons learnt from this
launch will enable the ATV programme to achieve even better
results in the coming years," he said. PTI AMI
SDE