New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- Stressing the expanding scope of global maritime vulnerabilities, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday emphasised that national security strategies can no longer focus solely on defending traditional sea lanes.

Addressing the Indian Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) in New Delhi, the Defence Minister called for an upgraded, holistic surveillance architecture designed to protect critical assets, including offshore energy reserves, commercial ports, and vital undersea data cables, against both conventional naval threats and hybrid non-traditional challenges.

"The security of shipping lanes remains essential, but so does the security of ports, undersea cables, offshore energy infrastructure, and other critic...