Re-adjust military preparedness to meet new threats: PM

Ezhimala/Chennai, Jan 8 (PTI) Warning of new terror
threats from the seas, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Thursday said the country needed to re-adjust its military
preparedness and promised to work with the global community to
ensure that there are no safe havens and launching pads for
terrorists.

Against the backdrop of Pak-based terrorists using sea
route for the Mumbai strikes, he pressed for credible
strategies to counter the threats faced not only in the
Arabian Sea but also in the Indian Ocean.

The Prime Minister voiced concern over the marked
increase in attempts by various terrorists and other groups to
use the blue waters around India for nefarious purposes.

The Mumbai attacks have highlighted the need for
heightened vigilance and response to asymmetric threats from
the sea, he said.

"The sea is increasingly becoming relevant in the
context of India's security interests and we must re-adjust
our military preparedness to this changing environment," Singh
said inaugurating the Naval Academy in Ezhimala, near Kannur
in southern Indian state of Kerala.

He said there was an ambitious plan for modernisation
of the navy to make it emerge as a three-dimensional force.

The terror issue also dominated the Prime Minister's
address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in Chennai.

He noted that the Mumbai attacks were a grim reminder
of the grave threat posed by extremism and terrorism and that
the country would not allow these forces to destabilise its
polity, economy and society.

"We will continue to work with the international
community to ensure that there are no safe havens and
launching pads for terrorists," he said. PTI