Maintaining that India wanted to have good relations with all the neighbouring countries but not at the cost of national security, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar made it clear on Monday that India would not take things lying down when it came to dealing with matters relating to deliberate efforts to escalate tension along the border with Pakistan.
With no let up in the escalating tension along the country’s border with Pakistan, Parrikar used the commissioning of INS Chennai into the Indian Navy as an occasion to reiterate that while India would not on its own initiate steps of aggression towards Pakistan, but “will not take things lying down” when it came to response.
“Through surgical strikes (in the Pakistan- Occupied Kashmir), we have sent a message across to Pakistan in this regard,” he said.
On the continuing ceasefire violations, the minister said: “The tension between India and Pakistan will cool down only when Pakistan will stop violating ceasefire agreement,” he said, while talking media persons after commissioning the “INS Chennai” into the Indian Navy.
When his attention was drawn the surgical strike against terror camps in PoK and consequent rise in the cease fire violations, Parrikar said that one were to put down a timeline of violations, there was always some political angle to them.
Parrikar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to improve the relations between the two countries “but he was severely criticised“. “We welcome good relations always, but not at the cost of national interest,” he said.
Earlier, the Minister commissioned INS Chennai, a P 15A Guided Missile Destroyer, into the Indian Navy at an impressive ceremony held at the Naval Dockyard, here.
The event marked the formal induction into the Navy of the third and the last of the three ‘Kolkata’ class destroyers, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by Mazagon Dock limited, Mumbai.
On his arrival, the Raksha Mantri was received by Admiral Sunil lanba, the Chief of the Naval Staff and was presented a Guard of Honour by the ship’s crew.
The ceremony was witnessed by a large gathering which included several dignitaries and senior officials from the government and all three services.
“It is a historic day for the Indian Navy as it adds another milestone in our relentless journey towards achieving self reliance in battle readiness. INS Chennai represents a significant ‘coming of age’ of our warship building capability and defence preparedness,” Parrikar said.
The minister said that Indian Navy, in addition to providing overall maritime security to our country, also played a crucial role as the ‘net security provider’ in our adjoining seas.
With its induction into the Indian Navy, INS Chennai will be placed under the operational and administrative control of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command. In due course, the ship will be assigned to the Western Fleet and would be base-ported at Mumbai.
Measuring 163m in length, 17.4m in breadth with a displacement of 7500 tonnes, the newly commissioned vessel and can rightfully be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India.
Propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines, in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration, capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots, the ship has enhanced stealth features resulting in a reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved through efficient shaping of hull, full beam superstructure design, plated masts and use of radar transparent materials on exposed decks.
INS Chennai is packed with contemporary and sophisticated ‘state of the art’ weapons and sensors such as Surface to Surface Missile and Surface to Air Missiles.
Apart from a modern Surveillance Radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship, the ship has Anti Submarine Warfare capabilities provided by the indigenously developed Rocket launchers and Torpedo launchers. It is equipped to fight under Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
A unique feature of this ship is the high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production, accentuating our national objective of ‘Make in India’.
Named after the iconic port city of Chennai, the ship has a complement of about 45 officers and 395 personnel.
With the changing power dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region, INS Chennai will augment the Indian Navy’s mobility, reach and flexibility whilst proudly flying the Indian flag.