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| Need to develop international mechanism to wipe out terrorism’, Defence Minister | | ‘Maintaining right balance between defence, development imperative’, says Antony | | Jammu Feb –05- Aerospace power has truly come of age and has become a credible instrument of national power and due to its dual use in both civilian and military dimensions, it has significantly revolutionized the geo-political context of world affairs, said the Defence Minister A K Antony today..
Addressing international seminar on ‘Aerospace in tomorrow’s world’, which is being attended by air forces of 37 countries, the Defence said the application of aerospace technologies in civil and military fields requires increased civil-military cooperation and stressed the need to invest in space technologies that provide multiple benefits.
Aviation in general and military aviation in particular, is technology-driven and it raises questions of affordability of such technology, more so in a country where developmental imperatives merit equal attention. Our defence expenditure at 2.2 per cent of our GDP rates as one of the lowest in the world. However, there is no doubt that we require modernization of defence forces, particularly of our aerospace capabilities, as they are crucial to our security concerns and development in future. Antony added.
Saying that space applications are capital intensive, more cost effective he called for a group of nations to come together and develop and utilize aerospace assets for mutual benefit. Instances of joint launch of satellites and development of global navigation system are a point in case. He said there are many areas in which nations could cooperate meaningfully to achieve enhanced aerospace capability by taking advantage of each other’s expertise in different fields of aerospace technologies, a handout issued from here said.
The handout further said that the Defence Minister has maintained that the unparalleled growth of our economy and increasing globalization requires a change in our security mindset. ‘Our responsibilities and commitments are expanding, in consonance with our economic interests, particularly in the context of energy security and therefore, it is imperative that we do not shy away from the cost of high technology systems’ and in fact, ensure that our national technological and industrial base is strengthened. ‘Our concern is to maintain the right balance between defence and development, since they cannot be mutually exclusive, or part of a zero-sum game’, he observed.
He said the complex matrix of our relations with other countries; coupled with technological capabilities, propel the engine of our nation’s growth. India has always believed in the principles of mutual respect and equality for other nations and favored an enhancement of mutual cooperation to achieve high levels of socio-economic growth. ‘We have always followed a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries’, the Defence Minister maintained.
The Defence Minister said that India has borne the brunt of terrorism for long and has always been advocating the development of an international mechanism to fight terror. The need of the hour therefore, is to isolate the terror networks from their support bases, which cut across geographical boundaries. Military power is no doubt required to stabilize the situation to allow adequate opportunity and space to political, social and economic factors to take charge. Aerospace capabilities particularly airlift, aerial surveillance, communications, intelligence sharing and calibrated strikes, if necessary, could form an important component of counter-terrorism, Antony added.
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