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New threats to security must be met: Patil

By Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Oct 21 � President Pratibha Devisingh Patil said that there are other challenges to security, many of them far removed from the classical notions of inter-state conflict.

The President was inaugurating the Manekshaw Centre on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the National Defence College (NDC) here today, in presence of host of dignitaries including King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

�As the world has globalised, so too have these challenges, no longer respecting national borders.� Trans-national crimes, piracy, drug trafficking and cyber attacks are all examples of these new threats, many of which are interlinked,� the President said.�

�All this requires that we must develop capabilities of adequately responding to not only the traditional threats, but also the new threats of the 21st Century,� the President said.�

India is a world leader. It is not her economic or military might alone � above all, it is the character of the Indian nation - her commitment to democracy, to engendering global equality among nations, to liberty, the King of Bhutan said addressing the inaugural session.

The tools available to us are no longer limited to military power alone. Other attributes of power, including soft power, economic strength and technological advances have an increasing role to play, he said.

This noble Indian character is directly reflected in the unique steadfast friendship she has forged with a small Himalayan neighbour, he observed.

Wangchuk, who was an alumnus of the NDC, had participated in the Operation against ULFA militants in Bhutan in 2003. �There is a sense of purpose in the establishing of the NDC, the activities it undertakes and the manner in which every senior Indian official who attends NDC approaches their stint here,� he said.

The King met the Prime Minister yesterday, while Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram and Chief of Army Staff, General V K Singh called on him this afternoon.

The King said he saw up close, in his interactions with leaders in government, civil service or private sector � his daily work at the NDC � and personal experiences throughout the city � the immensely bright future for India. And as India�s closest friend and neighbour, this bright future augured nothing but the best for Bhutan as well, he said.

�I came to India in early 2005 as a friend of India, appreciative of the role of India in Bhutan�s progress. I left a year later, as the staunchest proponent of Indo-Bhutan friendship as the key to Bhutan�s future, even in this new globalised world� he said.

Describing his stint in NDC as one of the best decisions he had made he said, �My love and affection for India and her people was further strengthened by a complete faith in the greatness of India and the bright future ahead for our two nations.�

Delivering the keynote address on �Role of Force in Strategic Affairs� organised on the occasion, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon said that India�s defence budget has only exceeded 3 per cent of GDP in one year of the last sixty-three. �There have been clear limits on the use of force internally. The use of military force for internal security functions has been severely circumscribed, limited to those cases where there is a strong correlation to inimical forces abroad such as Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir.

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