We don’t believe in ‘hierarchical’ world order, says Rajnath

NEW DELHI: India does not believe in a “hierarchical” world order where few countries are considered superior to others, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday, in the backdrop of an expansionist China flexing its muscles against its smaller neighbours.
“India’s international relations are guided by the very essence of human equality and dignity which is a part of our ancient ethos. We do not believe in making or becoming a client or satellite state, and so, when we partner with any nation, it is on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect, Singh said.
Chairing an ambassadors’ roundtable in the run-up to the Aero-India exhibition at Bengaluru next month, Singh also stressed India’s national efforts towards ‘Make in India’ are neither “isolationist” nor are they meant for the country alone, even as as he made an open offer of partnerships with New Delhi for production of military hardware and software.
Noting that India’s defence exports have grown eight times in the last five years and now the country is exporting to more than 75 nations, he said, “India has been working towards enhancing its defence manufacturing capabilities, particularly in the emerging areas of drones, cyber tech, AI, radars and other equipment.”
“Partnership and joint efforts” are the two key words that differentiate India’s defence industry cooperation with other nations. Underlining that the ‘Make-in-India’ programme encompasses ‘Make-for-the-World’, the defence minister said the self-reliance initiative is the beginning of a “new paradigm of partnership” with India’s partner countries.
“Within the domain of defence research and development and manufacturing, it translates into an open offer to you all, for joint efforts and partnerships in defence R&D and production,” he said.
“When we are procuring defence equipment from our valued partner nations, very often, they are sharing the technical know-how, setting up manufacturing plants in India, and working with our local firms for various sub-systems,” Singh said.
It is India’s endeavour to transcend the buyer-seller relationship to that of a co-development and co-production model, “irrespective of whether we are a buyer or a seller”, he added.
Taking note of the mega Rs 21,935 crore Tata-Airbus project to manufacture C-295 military transport aircraft in India, he said, “When we are exporting our defence equipment to our friendly nations, we offer our full support towards the capability development of the buyer through sharing of technology, training, co-production.”