India making border infra robust with seriousness it deserves: Jaishankar
Gandhinagar, Dec 23 (PTI) The country is making its border infrastructure robust with the seriousness it deserves to strengthen national security, with the construction of roads, bridges and tunnels along the China border at a much faster pace compared to what was achieved in previous decades, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here Saturday.
Despite the setback India faced in 1962, in the war with China, due to “complacency” and “neglect” for infrastructure along the border areas, it failed to learn a lesson until the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi started approaching the domain of security with the seriousness it deserves, he said.
Speaking at the third convocation of Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), the Union minister said India has deeply embedded security factors into its diplomatic strategy. “Acquiring and developing weapons, and building related capacities have not only been at the core of our defence policies, but also of our diplomacy,” he said.
Even when logistics has been a key to security and warfare, it remained a neglected dimension till recently, he said.
“Take our border areas facing China as an illustration. And let the figures speak for themselves. Today, road construction is 2x, bridging and tunnelling 3x, and the border infrastructure budget 4x compared to what was the commitment and achievement of the last decades,” he said in his address to graduating students of RRU.
“But it is not just the length and number of the roads, tunnels and bridges, but the consequences that they have for our operational capabilities. In the last decade, we have seen all-weather connectivity to Ladakh and to Tawang, focus on access to critical passes along the LAC (line of actual control), and the construction, in fact, of the world’s highest motorable road,” he said.
He said that “complacency” and “neglect” in the domain of security can cost the nation dearly. “We saw that graphically in 1962. But sadly, its lessons were not apparently learned by those who came later. It is only now that we are approaching border infrastructure with the seriousness that it deserves,” he added.
The application of new technologies and construction techniques has yielded visible results, accompanied by a reform of entities like the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), he said.
Jaishankar said that even by the traditional metrics of security assessments, India faces exceptional challenges.
“Strenuous efforts have since been made, especially in the last decade, to correct the shortcomings of the previous decades. The overall development of our national strengths that we have seen since 2014 have clearly had positive repercussions in the security field,” he said.
Focusing on acquiring and developing weapons and building related capacities has not only been at the core of India’s defence policies, but even of its diplomacy, he said.
“Indeed, a large part of our geopolitical calculations rests on which nations are likely to be reliable partners during times of stress. We, therefore, embed the security factor deeply into our strategy, and into our diplomacy,” he said.
“We have long been conversant with the concept of dual technology that has extended even more to encapsulate critical and emerging technologies. It has been a signal achievement of Indian diplomacy that we have been successful in forging relationships with multiple and often competing powers to our side,” he said.
The external affairs minister said that economic and technological capacities go hand in hand, and both are equally crucial for India’s security. The progress of nations and history is to a great measure reflected in the progress of technology, he said.
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