India does not believe in world order where few countries considered superior: Rajnath Singh

The defence minister said a strong and prosperous India would not be built at the cost of others

India does not believe in a world order where a few countries are considered superior to others, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday and noted that the possibility of a global framework could be envisaged if security becomes a truly collective enterprise.

In an address at the National Defence College, he also sounded a note of caution about cyber warfare and said it has increased the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.

"I would like to tell you that conduct of our strategic policy should be moral. India does not believe in a world order where few are considered superior to others," Mr. Singh said.

"India's actions are guided by the very essence of human equality and dignity, which is a part of our ancient ethos and its strong moral foundations, give us our political strength. Even our freedom struggle was based on the bedrock of high moral values," he noted.

His comments came amid increasing concerns over China's aggressive military posturing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as in the Indo-Pacific.

If security becomes a truly collective enterprise, "we can think of creating a global order which is beneficial to all of us", the minister said.

Key infrastructure like power generation and distribution is increasingly becoming more complex and there is need for dealing with such challenges effectively, Mr. Singh said.