‘Can’t change freedom of navigation’

New Delhi: In an apparent reference to China’s growing naval assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the freedom of navigation is a “universally accepted” norm that can “never be challenged”.

The minister said freedom of navigation in oceans is governed by an order based on rules and no power or group of powers should have the right to change it unilaterally.

“We belong to a multipolar world, where we want to make it clear that freedom of navigation can never be unilaterally or arbitrarily questioned by anybody. We are very clear in saying that this is the rules-based order globally, and no one power, or a regional power, or no group of powers or no one, should have the right to unilaterally change this order,” Sitharaman said in her address at the ‘Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue’ at the Manekshaw Centre here.

China has territorial disputes over South China Sea with several countries of the region, and India along with other nations have been maintaining that freedom of navigation.

On India’s growing profile in the international arena, she said: “We are no longer a regional player, and no longer a regional policy influencer. Globally, we have a leadership which is spearheaded within India.”

In his address, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the recent churning of global order has also prompted “many nations to pursue aggressive international cooperation and seek new alignments in support of their respective own interests”.