India stands as primary guarantor of peace & stability in Indian Ocean Region: Raksha Mantri lauds Indian Navy for safeguarding maritime interests

📌 Summary:

• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, addressing naval personnel at Barakhana in Visakhapatnam on the eve of Mahendragiri's commissioning, called India "the primary guarantor of peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)"

• Strategic rationale: over 90% of India's trade by volume moves via maritime routes; energy security, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and island territories make maritime security central to economic growth — "the region is our courtyard, and securing the courtyard is our responsibility"

• Flagged rising geopolitical competition and growing presence of extra-regional powers in the IOR, requiring heightened maritime vigilance — Navy is protecting maritime borders and securing vital sea lanes (SLOCs)

• On future warfare: conflicts may be fought without formal declaration and in unforeseen forms; soldiers must stay physically/mentally prepared and master emerging technologies; government committed to providing world-class weaponry — "weapons alone do not win wars; it is the people who wield them"

• CNS Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and FOC-in-C Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla were present

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Internal Security — maritime security, SLOC protection, IOR geopolitics; GS2 IR — India as net security provider / SAGAR vision; quotable for Mains answers on grey-zone warfare

🔑 Key Term: Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) — primary maritime trade and logistics routes whose security underpins India's energy and trade flows