“We also have reports of terrorists being trained to carry out attacks with varying modus operandi including through the medium of the sea,” warned India's Navy chief Sunil Lanba as he recalled the horrific terror attack allegedly carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama that leftover 40 CRPF personnel dead.

Using strong words for Pakistan, Lanba said, "This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided and abetted by a state which seeks to destabilise India.”

The Navy chief outlined the need for global cooperation in combating terrorism at the Indo Pacific Regional Dialogue. Lanba emphasised that while the Indo Pacific has witnessed multiple forms of terror in recent years, India faced a far more serious version of state-sponsored terrorism.

He said state-sponsored terrorism and terror through the sea route could become a global problem in the coming years.

Admiral Lanba who is also the Chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee said the Indo Pacific region could drive global economic growth in the coming decades.

"The Indo-Pacific Region holds great promise but its future is mired in the shifting plates of global politics and the fault lines of history," Lanba said.

Reiterating India’s SAGAR doctrine (Security & Growth for All) and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, the Navy chief said, “A unique blend of strategized financial aid, creeping territorial accretion, information operations, legal ambiguity and military assertiveness is being wielded by aspiring great powers to establish regional dominance. This is putting the region’s historically delicate stability under renewed pressure.”

The Navy chief did not mention China in his speech but his words were a clear reference to the country's ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative aimed at increasing connectivity and cooperation between countries in Asia, Africa and Europe via the land and maritime route.

India has opposed the OBOR initiative because of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which goes through Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

In May 2017, President Xi Jinping had said that more than 68 countries and international organisations have become a part of the belt and road initiative. Some of India’s key neighbours including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are signatories to the OBOR.

“On multiple occasions over the last few years, we have witnessed such assistance being offered for projects with suspect financial viability, limited local participation, and unequal benefit for the recipients. Some projects have also, arguably, been undertaken solely to support political and strategic designs with almost no benefit to locals. Such projects have been further enabled by the lack of any credible alternatives," he added.

Lanba said all countries must work to create an environment in the Indo-Pacific where multiple options are available to countries seeking financial assistance so that they are not entrapped by those with unscrupulous designs.

First Published:Mar 5, 2019 5:16 PM IST