Navy Chief tries to clear air on China

Aug. 19: Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Wednesday set about clearing up certain misconceptions with the press about his previous statements about China. Lashing out at a mediaperson’s question about China, Admiral Mehta said, "First of all, I did not say anything about the naval power of China outpowering ours. You (the media) shouldn’t just take one sentence and stretch it out of proportion. It should be put into perspective."
Flagging off India’s first solo circumnavigation of the globe (in the form of the INSV Mhadei), he elaborated that what he had said was that "China had a larger Navy" than the Indian one. "That doesn’t mean that we should aspire to have as many vessels as they do," continued the Admiral and further said, "We can get far better ones and improve existing vessels so that they can do the job better." He went on to say the nation’s sea blindness was finally in the process of being removed.
"It has taken a long time for the nation to recognise the importance of the sea. The Navy has known it all along," he said. He said the western fleet’s overseas deployment had provided dividends, with the Navy’s four vessels travelling across Africa, the Mediterranean, Britain and Russia.
"Our task force of four ships participated in exercises with the British and French navies, like the ones their navies conducted off our shores," he said.