India is strong enough to defend its borders against any threat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an Independence Day speech as the nation faces a frontier showdown with China and aggravated tensions with Pakistan. "Security is our top priority," Modi told thousands packed into the landmark Red Fort in New Delhi on Tuesday as India marked the 70th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule.
"Be it the sea or the borders, cyber or space - in all spheres, India is capable and we are strong enough to overcome those who try to act against our country," the Hindu nationalist leader declared. Modi, who wore a Rajasthani turban with a long flowing orange train, toned down his comments from three previous Independence Day speeches and did not mention the targets of his warning.
But his remarks came as a dispute between India and China over a strategic Himalayan plateau enters a third month on Wednesday. Hundreds of soldiers are reported to be facing off against each other at Doklam. The giant neighbours share a long history of mistrust and went to war in 1962 over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
China's state-controlled media has repeatedly warned that a conflict could break out over Doklam. India has urged a diplomatic solution to the standoff. The dispute started on June 16 when Chinese troops started to build a road on territory that it disputes with Bhutan. India troops moved in to stop the construction as India is a close ally of Bhutan. India is also mired in conflict in the Kashmir.
Modi, who said he spoke with US President Donald Trump on the eve of the speech, said: "The concern for national security is a natural one in an independent India. "Our security forces have always shown their capabilities whenever on duty. Whether it is terrorism or infiltrators, our security personnel have always been ready for sacrifice."
India carried out what it claimed "surgical strikes" in Pakistan in September last year. "When the surgical strike was carried out, the world came to know about the power that India possesses," Modi claimed in his speech.
He added that "bullets and abuses" cannot bring peace in Kashmir - where there are an estimated 500,000 Indian troops. The prime minister did not mention the 1947 partition that saw the creation of Muslim-dominated Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. At least one million people died in the chaotic aftermath of the split and 15 million were uprooted in the brutal mass migration.
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