Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said the Government was fully committed to develop a real Blue Water Navy, a Navy which could dominate the Indian Ocean, but could still be considered friendly by the neighbouring countries.
Commissioning INS Kochi, the second ship of the indigenously designed and constructed Project 15A (Kolkata-class) guided missile Destroyers, Parrikar cited two examples to illustrate his point that the Indian Navy could be friendly to its neighbours.
The first example was of transporting drinking water to Maldives last year, while the second example was the rescue and evacuation of nationals of over 20 countries from war-torn Yemen by the Indian Navy.